The week opens with crypto markets focused on the macro backdrop: while several protocol-level events are scheduled, developments around the Iran conflict and Fed signaling are likely to remain the dominant drivers.
Reuters reported Sunday that the Pentagon is preparing for possible weeks of ground operations in Iran, though Trump has not approved those plans, and by Monday AP reported he was floating the idea of seizing Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal even as diplomacy was still being discussed. Brent settled last Friday at $112.57, up 4.2% on the day.
BREAKING: President Trump says the US is in “serious discussions with a new and more reasonable regime to end our military operations in Iran.”
Trump also says that if a deal is not made, the US will “blow up and completely obliterate all of their electric generating plants, oil… pic.twitter.com/UAsFbQuWWF
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) March 30, 2026
Powell is due to speak later Monday, March 30, at Harvard, where markets will look for any signal on how the Fed is assessing the current oil-driven shock. With the Iran conflict pushing energy prices higher, policymakers are facing a familiar trade-off between inflation risks and slowing growth.
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As in recent weeks, macro developments are likely to remain the dominant driver for crypto. Any escalation in Iran or a shift in Powell’s forward guidance could quickly feed through into broader risk markets, including crypto assets.
Crypto Events To Watch This Week
In crypto land, the AAVE gets the spotlight this week. The project is set to activate Aave V4 on Ethereum mainnet. Aave V4 is already beyond the rumor stage and through the ARFC process, with the forum proposal laying out a “security-first” rollout, conservative risk parameters, and a narrower initial hub-and-spoke setup.
For ETH, the calendar matters less as a one-day catalyst than as a sentiment and narrative checkpoint. EthCC[9] begins March 30 in Cannes and bills itself as the largest and longest-running annual European Ethereum event, running through April 2. The adjacent EthCC Week schedule also includes “The Agora” on March 31, an institutional forum focused on market infrastructure, operational efficiency, and capital deployment.
JUP’s watchpoint is product expansion. Jupiter’s Offerbook is already in private beta, with registration open, and the pitch is unusually direct: “Onchain finance needs onchain credit. Time-based P2P loans, without price-based liquidations.” The product lets borrowers and lenders create fixed-term orders with customizable collateral, APR, loan size, and duration.
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SUSHI is lining up a derivatives push. The official Sushi account has set April 2 for perps, while Sushi’s own site already shows a dedicated perps page telling users “Perps on Sushi Coming Soon” and collecting waitlist signups. That matters because perps remain one of the deepest and stickiest revenue arenas in crypto, and Sushi has been framing derivatives as a strategic priority since Sushi Labs outlined its roadmap.
FTX is also back on the radar because cash is about to move. FTX Recovery Trust said it will begin its fourth distribution on March 31, totaling about $2.2 billion for eligible creditors in the convenience and non-convenience classes who completed the required steps, with funds expected via BitGo, Kraken, or Payoneer within one to three business days. The market question is straightforward: how much of that recovered capital, if any, makes its way back into crypto trading once claims are paid.
Based, a Hyperliquid-powered DEX, will launch its token on March 30. The project confirmed its March 30 TGE on X, and KuCoin has already scheduled BASED/USDT trading for 10:00 UTC on Monday, with withdrawals opening a day later. KuCoin describes Based as a non-custodial DeFi “SuperApp” spanning crypto, equities, commodities, and spending rails.
At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.32 trillion.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
