Bitcoin was little changed on Tuesday and has shown sluggish performance in March,
as lingering risk aversion due to the war with Iran kept traders cautious about speculative assets.
The world's largest cryptocurrency rose 0.2% to $67,401.9 by 9:44 AM (6:44 GMT) and traded virtually unchanged for March.
War with Iran Continues, Trump Reportedly Considering De-escalation
The US-Israeli war against Iran showed no signs of de-escalating on Tuesday, as strikes between Iran and surrounding Gulf states continued.
However, US President Donald Trump may be considering ending US military involvement in Iran while keeping the Strait of Hormuz blocked, the Wall Street Journal reported. Trump is considering this option as the war with Iran threatens to extend beyond its initial four to six weeks.
While this move may indicate some de-escalation of the conflict, the ongoing Hormuz blockade is expected to continue disruptions to energy supplies. This, in turn, could trigger energy-related inflation and maintain tight global monetary policy—a trend that negatively impacts speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Posts Sluggish March, Altcoins Mixed
Bitcoin performed sluggishly in March. While the world's largest cryptocurrency did climb to $75,000 during the month, it quickly returned to the trading range seen for most of the year.
Bitcoin outperformed gold in March, particularly as the yellow metal recorded one of its worst monthly declines on record. However, gold is still up 5.7% year-to-date, while Bitcoin is down nearly 23% in 2026.
Altcoins showed mixed performance in March. The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, was expected to gain nearly 5% this month, although this came after six months of sustained losses.
XRP fell 3.9% this month, while Solana was expected to lose 1.3%. Cardano was the worst performer among the major cryptocurrencies, heading for a 12.6% loss.
Among memecoins, $TRUMP fell 12.4% this month, while Dogecoin fell 2.8%.