Bitcoin traded at $71,300 on Wednesday, sitting in the same $70,000-$72,000 range it has occupied for the better part of a week [1]. The price is down 18.4 percent year-over-year from $87,424 on this date in 2025 and a long way from the all-time high of $126,198 reached in October 2025.

The numbers tell a story of stasis, not crisis. Bitcoin did not collapse when the war began on February 28 — it dropped sharply from the mid-$80,000s, found support around $65,000 in early March, and has since ground back to the low $70,000s. It is not acting as the safe haven its advocates promised, nor is it cratering like a pure risk asset.

Ethereum followed a similar pattern, trading at approximately $2,170, up modestly on the day but down 7 percent on the week [2]. The broader crypto market is quiet. DeFi activity continues. Staking yields are stable. Nobody is panicking, and nobody is buying aggressively.

The short-term holder cost basis sits at $70,000 — meaning recent buyers are roughly breaking even [1]. If the price dips below that level, forced selling could accelerate. If it holds, the range-bound drift continues.

The market is waiting for the same thing everyone else is waiting for: Friday.

-- DAVID CHEN, Beijing