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Gm fam! $BTC ( ▲ 1.95% ) just took us through a brutal dip from Mar 5-8. To keep you guys in the loop on the macro side: world oil prices are still pumping, hitting $110 this morning.
It’s basically a giant chess match right now. You know how Gold and Silver went crazy recently because China was buying like there’s no tomorrow?
Well, now the US is pushing Oil back up to balance out their position against China. And for the crypto fam? Well, we’re all just suffering together 😟😟
Here’s what we got for you today:
👀 Why USDT gets minted so often?
⭐ BTC bleeds as oil soars on war news
⭐ Is the crypto bill in trouble?
🔥 Burning hot takes for the road
💵 Why USDT suddenly gets minted every time the crypto market moves?
Every new batch of Tether usually signals fresh liquidity entering the system, whether traders are preparing for a bull run, buying the dip, or rushing to stablecoins during a crash. In this guide, I break down:
How $USDT ( ▼ 0.02% ) minting works
Why billions of new tokens appear during market volatility
What those mint spikes reveal about real capital flows in crypto
And how USDT compares to other stablecoins like USDC, DAI, and FDUSD
Personally, USDT minting is one of the most underrated indicators in crypto. If you get it, you can often spot where liquidity. and sometimes the market might move next.
🛢️ CRISIS MODE: OIL HITS $111, BTC STRUGGLES UNDER $66K
The geopolitical turmoil is escalating fast, and markets are feeling the heat. As the conflict in Iran enters its 9th day, we are seeing major shake-ups in oil, leadership, and crypto.
$WTI ( ▲ 8.6% ) crude skyrocketed to $111.24 per barrel, the highest since 2022. That’s a massive 22% jump in just one day, following a record-breaking 36% surge last week.
US Oil Price. Source: TradingView
Brent crude trading around $110, roughly $40 higher than just the previous weekend.
→ This follows WTI's already historic 36% surge last week, the most violent weekly oil price increase in market history!
Why? The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed. The UAE and Kuwait are cutting production because they can’t ship their oil, and storage is filling up.
2/ Iran Has a New Supreme Leader 👤
Over the weekend Iran's Assembly of Experts officially selected Mojtaba Khamenei, 56 years old and son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps pledged full and absolute loyalty. But this leadership transition appears to be hardening Iran's position, not softening it:
Iranian military declared it can sustain high intensity conflict for at least 6 more months at the current pace
Iran announced it will soon deploy advanced long range missiles that are rarely used
→ This is a signal of digging in!
3/ What This All Means for BTC and Crypto 📊
BTC briefly dipped below $66,000 before a slight recovery. But the macro picture for crypto remains genuinely difficult right now:
Oil above $100 essentially kills any hope of Fed rate cuts in the near term
March rate cut was already off the table before the conflict. Now even a June cut looks extremely unlikely
Higher oil = higher inflation expectations = stronger dollar = higher real interest rates
Over 94,000 traders liquidated in the last 24 hours, totaling $372M million. Bulls took the biggest hit ($214M liquidated vs $158M shorts).
Liquidation Map in 24 Hours. Source: CoinGlass
Remember the pump to $74k on March 5th when the war news first broke? That didn't last. BTC has now slid for 4 straight days back to the $65k-$66k zone.
All of these factors combine to keep $BTC ( ▲ 1.95% ) firmly in the "risk asset" box rather than the safe haven box.
Important: The Strait of Hormuz has never been fully closed during a US involved conflict before!
💭 Trump's Take: He posted on Truth Social that the oil spike is "temporary and acceptable," predicting prices will crash once the Iranian nuclear threat is neutralized. But markets aren't so sure, fearing a long, drawn-out conflict!
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🛑 TRUMP PAUSES CONGRESS. IS THE CRYPTO BILL IN TROUBLE?
The political drama in Washington just hit a new level, and it looks like the crypto industry might be caught in the crossfire.
President Trump has issued a strict ultimatum on Truth Social: He will NOT sign any new bills until Congress passes the SAVE Act (a law requiring proof of citizenship for voting).
The SAVE Act requires citizenship verification for voter registration and already passed the House on Feb 11 with a very narrow 218 to 213 vote. Now it heads to the Senate, where things get much harder.
Democrats are expected to filibuster it, meaning the bill needs 60 votes to move forward. The problem:
Republicans almost certainly can’t reach 60 votes without bipartisan support
Prediction markets like Polymarket currently give it only an 18% chance of passing this year
So Where Does the CLARITY Act Actually Stand? 📋
Unfortunately, this puts the long-awaited CLARITY Act - the bill meant to provide clear rules for crypto and stablecoins - on indefinite hold.
It passed the House in July 2025 with strong bipartisan support, which was actually a big achievement for a crypto bill. But after that, progress slowed almost immediately:
A committee vote scheduled for Jan 15, 2026 was postponed after Coinbase and other major players withdrew support over stablecoin yield restrictions
The informal March 1 deadline set by Crypto Council executive Patrick Witt passed without any resolution
The Senate Banking Committee is now expected to revisit the bill between mid to late March, and it could easily stretch into April
Until this political standoff is resolved, all other legislation, including crypto rules, is effectively stuck in a traffic jam.
The Banking Battle Behind the Scenes 🏦
This crypto bill was already facing a massive hurdle from the banking sector before this delay. Big players like JPMorgan and Bank of America have been lobbying hard against it.
The Issue: Banks are terrified that if stablecoin issuers are allowed to pay yield (interest) to users, people will pull their money out of traditional low-interest savings accounts.
The Stakes: They estimate that up to $6.6 trillion could flee the banking system and move into crypto if this is allowed.
The clock is ticking. With the 2026 midterm elections coming up, Congress usually slows down by July.
If they can’t break this deadlock soon, we might see regulators like the SEC and OCC step in to fill the void with strict enforcement actions instead of clear laws.
Despite the chaos, the community remains surprisingly optimistic, with a 70% chance of the crypto bill eventually passing on prediction markets.
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🔥 BURNING HOT TAKES FOR THE ROAD
Sky (MakerDAO) co-founder Rune Christensen longed oil and shorted $ETH ( ▲ 3.94% ) + U.S. stocks on Hyperliquid -> Profit already over $2M. Read more
Bitwise CIO says the classic “everything pumps” altcoin season may be over. Future cycles could be selective. Watch full speech
WSJ: Kalshi & Polymarket are reportedly exploring new funding at $20B valuations each. People trade probabilities of real-world events. Read more
A U.S. court dismissed the terrorism financing lawsuit against Binance & CZ. But regulators are still watching the exchange closely. Read more
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⚠ This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Traders should conduct thorough research, understand the risks, and carefully evaluate their decisions before investing in cryptocurrency.
