The Week That Was

Executive Summary

Between March 15 and March 21, 2026, global markets entered a period of profound instability characterized by the “stagflation trap”—a collision of kinetic warfare in the Middle East, surging energy prices, and restrictive monetary policy. Bitcoin emerged as a resilient institutional reserve asset, decoupling from traditional risk assets and gold, which suffered its worst weekly performance in over 40 years.

Key developments include the systematic “decapitation” of the Iranian state leadership by Israeli forces, a 95% collapse in Strait of Hormuz maritime traffic, and Brent crude oil peaking near $119 per barrel. While Bitcoin experienced a 5.88% price contraction from its intraday peak of $76,020 due to legacy whale distribution and a $392 million derivative liquidation event, institutional infrastructure expanded. Notable milestones include Morgan Stanley’s filing for an in-kind Bitcoin trust, Mastercard’s $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure, and the SEC’s approval of tokenized equity trading on the Nasdaq.

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