Bitcoin is faring better than major precious metals during the Iranian crisis, according to analysts at JPMorgan, as reported by The Block.
Since early March, gold has dropped by 15%. This decline is attributed to rising interest rates and a strengthening dollar, which have impacted an overheated market. Experts believe that record highs (gold at $5,500, silver at $120) have made these assets vulnerable to profit-taking and liquidations amid changing market conditions.
In just three weeks, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lost about $11 billion. Silver ETFs lost all the funds accumulated since last summer. In contrast, Bitcoin-based instruments attracted $1.3 billion during the same period.
Comparison of inflows into gold, silver, and Bitcoin ETFs. Source: JPMorgan/The Block.
Liquidity Recovery
Following the onset of the military conflict, crypto activity in Iran surged sharply: locals withdrew funds from local exchanges to non-custodial wallets and international platforms.
On the global market, open interest in Bitcoin jumped to $30 billion, noted CryptoQuant.
Open interest surged to ~$30B as prices rallied.
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) March 26, 2026
Binance led inflows, with BTC +$829M and ETH +$1.6B, while activity concentrated on top exchanges.
Leverage is flowing into major venues, not broad market participation. pic.twitter.com/uTolRnxtVU
Capital inflows were concentrated on major platforms: Binance received $829 million in Bitcoin and $1.6 billion in Ethereum, while activity on smaller exchanges remained subdued.
Institutional positioning has also shifted. JPMorgan's proxy indicator (based on open interest on CME) showed accumulation in gold and silver positions at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, but began to decline in January. Positioning in Bitcoin futures remained stable.
Trend traders intensified market movements. Signals for precious metals fell from overbought territory to below neutral levels, indicating liquidations. Conversely, Bitcoin signals are recovering from oversold levels to neutral, reflecting improved sentiment.
There has also been a shift in liquidity structure. Gold, historically more liquid than silver and Bitcoin, has fallen behind Bitcoin in market breadth. Silver has seen the steepest decline, which JPMorgan analysts believe may have further amplified price movements for the asset.
Decline in Network Activity
At the same time, CryptoQuant analyst Carmelo Aleman noted a decrease in on-chain activity. The number of active Bitcoin addresses dropped by 30% — from 938,609 to 655,908. This is the lowest level since August 2025.
Bitcoin Is Cooling Internally: Active Addresses Have Fallen by More Than 30%
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) March 27, 2026
“To validate a convincing structural recovery, it will not be enough to see price move higher; network activity will also need to return.” – By @oro_crypto pic.twitter.com/eBMkEcCut5
The seven-day moving average of active addresses fell from 777,283 to 612,972 (-21.14%), while the 30-day average dropped from 743,714 to 636,314 (-14.44%).
The bear market exacerbates this metric, the expert noted. The decline in price and the reduction in active addresses indicate that the market is losing not only value but also real participants.
“This is important because a price increase alone does not confirm a structural recovery. As long as on-chain activity remains weak, any rise will be built on a more fragile foundation than during periods of genuine expansion,” Aleman emphasized.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $67,700. Over the past 24 hours, the asset's price has decreased by 2.7%.
On March 27, a quarterly options expiration occurred on Deribit, with $13 billion in Bitcoin options and $2.1 billion in Ethereum options. The put-to-call ratio was 0.56, indicating a significant bias towards bullish bets.
🚨 Quarterly Options Expiry Alert | 08:00 UTC Friday
— Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) March 26, 2026
$15.58B in crypto options are set to expire tomorrow on Deribit. The largest expiry in 2026 so far.$BTC: 195,398 contracts | $13.46B notional | Max pain: $75K | Put/Call: 0.61$ETH: 1,026,462 contracts | $2.12B notional |… pic.twitter.com/Ap70thX9dI
On March 24, an analyst known as Sykodelic identified a condition for Bitcoin's price to reach $200,000. According to him, Bitcoin needs to close a weekly candle above $74,400 to set a new all-time high.