The amendment confirmed that the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust will list on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol MSBT.
Chainlink is showing signs of weakness after a bearish shift in momentum, with sellers gaining the upper hand in the short term. However, the $9.55 level remains a critical pivot, and a successful flip above this resistance could quickly turn the tide back in favor of the bulls and open the door for a stronger recovery. Bearish Daily Close Signals Rising Selling Pressure The most recent daily candle for both Chainlink and LINKBTC has closed with a bearish bias, signaling a period of short-term exhaustion. According to technical insights from CryptoWzrd, this downward pressure suggests that the asset remains in a vulnerable position. Related Reading: Chainlink Tests Key Resistance While Monthly Compression Hints At Explosion However, the path to recovery for Chainlink is heavily dependent on the trajectory of Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D). A retracement in BTC.D would likely provide the necessary momentum for altcoins, specifically the LINKBTC pair, to pivot to a more bullish stance. This shift in capital flow is essential for LINK to challenge its immediate overhead resistance. From a structural perspective, the $9.50 level remains the critical hurdle for a sustained trend reversal. A successful breach above this resistance would likely ignite an impulsive rally, opening the door for a move toward the $12.00 psychological threshold, with potential for further extension if buy-side volume remains consistent. Given the current volatility and the proximity to key pivot points, the immediate focus remains on lower-timeframe developments. Thus, the analyst will be closely monitoring the intraday chart by tracking the interaction between price action and micro-support levels to capitalize on early signs of momentum before the broader breakout occurs. Chainlink Intraday Structure Shows Heightened Volatility CryptoWzrd highlighted that the intraday structure remains bearish and highly volatile, indicating that the price could extend its downside move from the current region before any meaningful recovery takes shape. The lack of clear bullish momentum in the short term suggests that sellers still have the upper hand, making the current environment more reactive than directional. Related Reading: Chainlink Bullish Path – This Zone Will Decide The Next Big Move A continued decline could help price reach a more attractive demand zone, where a bullish reversal may develop, offering a potential long opportunity. However, confirmation will be key, as any upside attempt without strong support could quickly fade. If price pushes back up to retest the $9.55 resistance and shows signs of weakness or rejection, it would present a favorable setup for short positions. Broader market conditions are also expected to drive price action, with both geopolitical developments and Bitcoin’s movement playing a significant role in shaping sentiment. Any sudden shifts in these factors could accelerate volatility, so traders remain cautious and flexible while closely monitoring key levels. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin’s fear gauge plunged back into “Extreme Fear” on Wednesday — the same day traders flooded social media with bullish calls following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady. Related Reading: Ripple’s $500M Raise And Institutional Ties Keep XRP Firmly In Place Sentiment Shoots Up Despite Grim Market Signals The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a widely tracked measure of overall market mood, had briefly climbed into plain “Fear” territory the day before, only to reverse course hours later. Yet traders appeared unfazed. According to sentiment platform Santiment, bullish chatter on social media spiked hard after the Fed announced it would keep rates unchanged at 3.5–3.75%. The platform’s social media discussion score shot from roughly nine to 71 within hours of the announcement. Bitcoin itself told a different story. It was trading at around $70,150 at the time of the Fed’s announcement, down more than 4% in the prior 24 hours. ???????? Today’s FOMC meeting has resulted in the expected outcome of interest rates holding steady at 3.50-3.75%. There is an expectation that there will be one further cut sometime in 2026, and one in 2027. ???? For now, traders are expecting a bullish relief rally in spite of no… pic.twitter.com/oBqLTcv3Ni — Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 18, 2026 Traders See Rate Hold As A Window For Gains Santiment attributed the surge in positive sentiment to a simple shift in trader thinking. The bearish price action tied to the absence of rate cuts had already played out a day earlier, the platform said, leaving room for traders to reframe the unchanged rate decision as a net positive. Holding rates steady, the logic goes, at least keeps the door open for cuts down the road. Fed policy has long shaped how crypto market participants read the broader economic environment. Rate cuts, in particular, are seen as fuel for risk assets like Bitcoin. Reports indicate traders had been watching the Fed’s moves closely throughout 2025 as a potential trigger for a bull run that never fully materialized. The S&P 500 has shed 3.70% over the past 30 days, according to Google Finance data, adding pressure to an already skittish crypto market. Analysts Warn A False Rally Could Be Taking Shape Not everyone is buying the optimism. Onchain analysts warned that what looks like an uptrend could be a bull trap — a false signal that draws buyers in before prices reverse lower. Related Reading: XRP Moves Into ‘Scarce Zone’ As Exchange Supply Dries Up Some market observers expect Bitcoin and the broader market to stage a sharp rally once equities find a floor. Others made a similar call earlier this week, saying on X that a “massive rally” is coming in the months ahead. The divide among analysts reflects how unsettled conditions remain. Social media buzz has spiked, but the fear index says something else entirely. Whether the rally traders are counting on shows up — or fades before it starts — remains an open question. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Data shows the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap has been positive for the past 25 days, a sign that could point toward returning demand from American institutional traders. Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Gap Has Been Climbing Recently In a new post on X, CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn has talked about the latest trend in the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap. This indicator measures the difference between the BTC price listed on Coinbase (USD pair) and that on Binance (USDT pair). When the value of this metric is above zero, it means the cryptocurrency is going for a higher price on Coinbase than on Binance. Such a trend implies the users of the former may be applying a higher amount of buying pressure (or a lower amount of selling pressure) as compared to that of the latter. On the other hand, the indicator being underwater suggests the Binance traders may be the ones participating in a higher amount of accumulation as they have pushed BTC to a higher rate relative to Coinbase. Now, here is the chart shared by Maartunn that shows the trend in the 30-hour moving average (MA) of the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap over the last few years: As displayed in the above graph, the 30-hour MA of the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap fell deep into the negative zone during the asset’s decline from its January high, suggesting selling on Coinbase may have been the driver behind the price drop. Coinbase users affecting the asset’s trajectory isn’t anything new for the market. In fact, since the start of 2024, there has tended to be some correlation between the Coinbase Premium Gap and BTC’s spot price. This may be because of the fact that the exchange is the main destination of institutional investors based in the United States. Even the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) use the platform as their custodian. From the chart, it’s visible that while the metric was inside the red zone earlier in the year, a shift started to occur toward the end of February, with the indicator’s 30-hour MA value flipping into the positive region. Since then, it has steadily been going up inside the zone, indicating the cryptocurrency’s price on Coinbase has risen relative to the Binance market. “The Coinbase Premium Gap just logged 25 consecutive days in positive territory, the longest streak since October 2025,” noted the analyst. Bitcoin has shown some recovery alongside these green values, a potential sign that American institutional entities may once again be playing a role in the market. BTC Price Bitcoin surged above $75,000 earlier in the week, but the coin has since gone through a retrace as its price is now floating around $70,300. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Retail investors became the main force behind gold-fund buying over the past six months, helping extend bullion’s rise even as some institutional money started to step back. At the same time, fresh inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) show part of Wall Street rebuilding crypto exposure through the regulated ETF channel, setting up […]
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Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has reiterated his $250,000 year-end price target for Bitcoin. With Bitcoin trading around $70,100, that target would imply roughly 256.5% upside from current levels and a clean break above its previous peak at $126,000 from October 2025. Reiterating Bullish Predictions Arthur Hayes is one of the most outspoken bullish proponents for Bitcoin. He has, on multiple occasions, pointed to Bitcoin breaking above $200,000 among his long-term bullish expectations for the asset. That earlier stance has now been reaffirmed in a recent YouTube interview. Related Reading: Bitcoin Is Still Bearish And Price Is Headed Below $50,000; Analyst Given how Bitcoin’s price action has unfolded since those earlier calls, Hayes was pressed on whether his outlook had changed in a recent YouTube interview. Hayes was asked whether his Bitcoin prediction for 2026 has changed, and his response left little room for interpretation. He stated that he would “go the same number,” repeating his $250,000 Bitcoin target by the end of the year. The consistency in his outlook shows that his conviction has not changed despite recent price fluctuations and the inability of Bitcoin’s correction to find a bottom. Although the $250,000 prediction did not come with a direct breakdown at that moment, Hayes has always given different reasons as to why he is bullish in other similar predictions. He has previously noted that a prolonged US-Iran conflict could force the Federal Reserve to print more money, which in turn would have a ripple effect in driving the Bitcoin price higher. Can Bitcoin Reach $250,000 In 2026? At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $70,100 and now seems to have registered a bottom just above $61,000. Therefore, a move to $250,000 would push Bitcoin far above its previous high at $126,000 and establish a completely new price range. Related Reading: Bitcoin Just Flashed The Most Powerful Fractal In The Market, Here’s What To Expect Recent price action shows that Bitcoin has struggled to break out of its current consolidation, repeatedly moving within a broad $60,000 to $74,000 band without a decisive trend in either direction. A rally to $250,000 would require Bitcoin to first clear its current range and then reclaim higher price zones that were lost during the correction from its 2025 peak. Technical analysis suggests that once Bitcoin breaks through certain supply gaps above $76,000, then it could rally fast due to thinner resistance. Hayes had earlier projected a bigger Bitcoin target in the $500,000 to $750,000 range by the end of 2026, with his prediction based on escalating tensions in the Middle East. However, he has also noted a bit of caution for Bitcoin while speaking at another similar podcast interview. “If I had $1 to invest right now, would I be putting it into Bitcoin? No. I would wait,” Hayes said, stating he would only become a buyer when the Federal Reserve begins easing. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Bitcoin is under pressure on the shorter timeframe, trading below a critical resistance zone after failing to hold recent gains. The bulls have not shown up yet and the structure points toward at least one more low before any meaningful recovery can be confirmed. Where Bitcoin Stands Right Now Bitcoin got rejected at the resistance …
Quantum computers cannot break Bitcoin yet. The emphasis is on yet. A Canadian technology company just became the first to deploy a working implementation of the solution Bitcoin developers have been debating for months, and it did so while the broader Bitcoin ecosystem has made virtually no progress toward the same goal. BTQ Technologies activated …
The firm reported a $393.6 million net loss in Q4, largely driven by declines in the fair value of its bitcoin holdings.
Strive's Bitcoin accumulation strategy highlights a shift towards digital assets in corporate finance, potentially influencing institutional investment trends.
The post Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive acquires 317 Bitcoin, moving into top 10 BTC holders appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Crypto asset products saw about $1.06 billion in net inflows last week, extending a three-week positive streak despite ongoing geopolitical stress and mixed macro data. Related Reading: Crypto Lobby Loses Key Illinois Race Yet Keeps $221M Firepower For Midterms Inside The Crypto Report New on-chain data from Banana Gun show about $19,200 in bot fees over the week of March 9–15, with ETH capturing roughly 50.5% and BSC around 36%, while Solana activity cooled sharply. Because Banana Gun is a multi-chain trading bot and DeFi execution layer used by active traders to route orders across Ethereum, Binace Chain, Solana and Base, its on-chain order flow effectively mirrors the ETF-driven rotation back into majors and “quality” chains whenever uncertainty spikes. After prior outflow periods and coincides with bitcoin holding up better than equities and gold during recent turbulence, bitcoin captured roughly 75% of those net inflows (around $793 million) as investors treated it as a relative safe haven, while Ethereum and Solana also logged smaller but positive flows. Weekly crypto asset flows. Source: Banana Gun Ethereum reclaimed about 50% dominance in one major on-chain trading venue’s fee mix, reflecting a clear rotation back into majors as speculative alt activity cooled. This rotation mirrors broader market flows, where BTC and ETH are again the primary liquidity magnets. Ethereum has seen meaningful inflows (around $315 million), helped by new staking-focused ETF products that are pulling flows closer to neutral year-to-date. Three straight weeks of inflows totaling roughly $2.2 billion signal renewed commitment from larger holders and ETF-driven capital, even as spot prices remain volatile. Retail Inflow In Comparison On the exchange side, on‑chain analytics from CryptoQuant show that retail inflows to Binance hit roughly $131.8 million in a single hour on March 11, the highest spike since January 2026. These sharp, clustered inflows from smaller wallets typically reflect funds being moved onto the exchange for active trading, often around key price inflection points. Binance Retail to Exchange Flow. Source: CryptoQuant While institutions keep buying exposure through ETFs, the $131.8 million retail inflow cluster into BSC underlines that shorter‑term traders are also stepping back in, either to chase momentum or lock in profits. Every notable retail inflow cluster in Q1 has appeared around sharp BTC moves, framing this as a classic liquidity and volatility signal rather than random noise. Related Reading: Bitcoin Stuck At $74K As US Fed Sets the Stage For Explosive Move Main Takeaway For Traders Taken together, ETF inflows, retail capital rushing into Binance, and on‑chain execution flows through tools such as Banana Gun all point to the same pattern: liquidity rotating back into BTC and ETH as traders position around volatility, not away from it. The fact that retail is still willing to send over $130 million to a single exchange in an hour, at the same time as institutional ETF flows remain firmly positive, suggests that crypto is entering a new phase of risk‑taking rather than a late‑cycle exhaustion spike. The signal mix is clear: persistent ETF inflows, ETH regaining on‑chain execution dominance, and aggressive retail inflow clusters to BSC are creating pockets of high liquidity where advanced routing tools and execution bots such as Banana Gun can help capture short‑term moves while majors remain the core of the trade. ETH’s trades around $2k on the daily chart. Source: ETHUSDT on Tradingview Cover image from Banana Gun, ETHUSDT chart from Tradingview
Bitcoin is back at a point where the next move may carry more importance than an ordinary resistance test. The latest rebound has pulled the price back into a zone that could be the line between a continued recovery and another leg lower, especially as it is still early to judge whether the bounce from the yearly low has real strength behind it. Now, all eyes are on one specific zone that could either launch Bitcoin to a new all-time high or send it to another yearly low. A Roadmap Playing Out In Real Time The setup comes from a technical outlook shared by analyst Crypto Patel, who noted that Bitcoin has now entered its most important zone of 2026. The reaction inside the current order block will determine whether Bitcoin can continue building back to the upper resistance bands or slip into another breakdown sequence. That view is coming as Bitcoin broke above $75,000 again following weeks of trading below the level. Related Reading: XRP Trend Exhaustion Says Price Is About To Jump, Here’s The Target Crypto Patel’s prediction strategy is built around Bearish Order Block 1, a zone running from $74,567 to $79,289. According to his roadmap, Bitcoin already reclaimed $76,000 and pushed through the previous $74,000 resistance, confirming the bounce he had mapped from the $60,000 support area. The chart that accompanied his post presents this range as the first major test of the current rebound. Price is shown climbing out of a local low near $59,809 and moving straight into that overhead supply region. A projected path on the chart suggests two very different outcomes from here. One path shows Bitcoin getting rejected in this first order block and rolling over into a break of structure that could drag price back to the range in the low-$50,000s. The other shows Bitcoin pushing through the zone, establishing a higher low, and then making a run into the next resistance cluster. Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: @CryptoPatel On X New All-Time High Within Reach If Structure Holds The bullish scenario for this technical analysis. Bitcoin needs to break through Bearish Order Block 1 and keep building. If that happens, then the next upside target is in Bearish Order Block 2, which is between $86,000 and $90,600. Related Reading: Ex-UK Prime Minister Blasts Bitcoin, Here’s What He Said The analyst also placed a change-of-character level at about $97,900 and noted that a higher-timeframe close above that region would be bullish. That would mean Bitcoin is no longer just bouncing inside the structure. Bitcoin closed around $73,926 on March 17 and around $71,256 on March 18, which means the price action is still close enough to Patel’s first decision zone for every small move there to matter. The bearish case is just as straightforward and probably more immediate. A rejection inside the $74,567 to $79,289 band could send Bitcoin into a fresh yearly low. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin fell 5.5% to around $70,000 on Thursday afternoon in Asia, tracking a broader risk-off move across global markets.
Bitcoin could be vulnerable to another sharp leg lower if a developing wedge pattern breaks down, according to market technician Aksel Kibar, whose latest chart work points to a possible move toward $52,500. The warning matters because Kibar is not framing this as a macro hot take or a sentiment call, but as a pure technical risk signal built around the same structure he flagged before Bitcoin’s earlier selloff. In one of his latest posts on X, Kibar wrote: “See my analysis at the time of the previous bearish wedge pattern. A similar pattern might be developing. Not a prediction. Breakdown of the lower boundary will be the signal for a possible move towards 52.5K.” That caveat is central to the setup. He is not saying Bitcoin must trade there. He is saying a confirmed loss of structure (currently around $66,000) would open that path on the chart. History Repeating For Bitcoin? Kibar paired that with a broader point about trade management rather than directional conviction. “If you got in with a chart signal, you should get out with the chart signal,” he wrote. In a follow-up, he added: “How can charting be used as a risk management tool? By moving to the sidelines when the time is not right, protects capital, frees it for other opportunities.” Read together, the message is less about calling a dramatic collapse than about respecting invalidation when a technical setup fails. Related Reading: Bitcoin Has Entered A Rare Zone Against Gold, Fidelity Says The backdrop is a call Kibar made on Jan. 19, when Bitcoin was consolidating beneath what he treats as its long-term trend filter, the 365-day EMA. At the time, with price trading inside a rising wedge and getting rejected near the upper boundary around $97,000, he wrote: “The consolidation below the long-term average. With cryptocurrencies I’m taking the 365 day EMA. With equities I take 200 day EMA as my year-long average trend filter. So far BTCUSD respected the year-long average. This is part of the chop and search for a base. The pattern can become a rising wedge, usually bearish in an attempt to test 73.7K-76.5K support area.” That support zone eventually came under pressure, and the chart he reposted now shows a deeper washout toward the $60,000 area before the latest rebound began tracing what he says may be a similar wedge. Related Reading: Bitcoin Long-Term MVRV Remains In ‘Opportunity’ Zone: Data Notably, Kibar is one of the most respected technical analysts on X. He is a Chartered Market Technician and founder of Tech Charts LLC, and before launching his own research firm he worked as a senior technical analyst and fund manager at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, as well as a portfolio manager at Abu Dhabi Investment Company. The CMT Association also lists him as a presenter and contributor. For Bitcoin traders, the immediate implication is straightforward. When Kibar speaks, the market tends to pay attention. As long as price remains inside the wedge or breaks out, bulls have little to worry about. But a break below $66,000 could open the door to another drawdown toward $52,000. At press time, BTC traded at $70,259. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The Bitcoin price broke above $75,000 earlier this week, marking the highest level for the pioneer cryptocurrency for over one month. But while this move has led to an improvement in the overall investor sentiment, it could end up being a trap. This is called out by analyst TheOnePct, who explained that the correct move could end up being part of a larger Flat correction that began years ago. In this case, it would only be a matter of time before the Bitcoin price falls again. Bitcoin Break Confirms Structural Weakness The analysis follows the Bitcoin price movement since 2021, expressing that this current move is still part of the correction that began almost five years ago after the 2021 bull market. Instead of marking the bottom for BTC, the crypto analyst explains that it is likely a B-wave of the Flat correction. Related Reading: Can Avalanche’s AVAX Rise From The Dead? The Zone That Could Change Everything The current price movements, the analyst suggests, are actually ‘structurally consistent’ with this Flat correction. One of the things that seems to correlate is the fact that the Bitcoin price has been seeing very aggressive declines. It coincides with the C-wave of a flat correction, which spells even more bad luck for the cryptocurrency. Another thing the analyst calls out is that the current C-wave looks to be terminal in nature. This simply means that the current trend is inherently corrective. As a result, it is likely that the price will reverse and fall further even after the correction. What To Expect Interpreting the decline of the Bitcoin price, the analyst says the trend suggests that Wave 1 has actually not bottomed. If that is the case, then the recovery into the $70,000s may only be temporary in nature. Not only this, but that the digital asset is likely forming a Diametric pattern. Related Reading: Shiba Inu’s 1,549% Spike: Can Bulls Take Control Again And Trigger An Explosive Rally? Going by this, the crypto analyst says that the Bitcoin price is likely moving through Wave F, which could end up being more complex in terms of the sideways movement. Eventually, though, this is expected to end in a decline, leading into Wave G. Wave G is more bearish than the previous wave, and as the price begins to move through, it is expected to fall below $60,000, bottoming somewhere around $55,000. “BTC has already shown clear structural weakness, and that weakness is likely to continue hunting the market for quite some time,” the analyst said. “Because of this, the market may remain in a bearish environment for longer than most expect.” Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com
A whale who accumulated 5,000 BTC in 2013 sold $71.6 million worth of bitcoin on Wednesday, onchain data shows.
On-chain data shows the 365-day Bitcoin MVRV Ratio has recently been sitting deep inside the negative zone, implying long-term buyers are underwater. Bitcoin MVRV Ratio Suggests 1-Year Holders Still In Pain In a new post on X, on-chain analytics firm Santiment has talked about how the short-term and long-term Bitcoin returns have been looking from the perspective of the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio. This indicator keeps track of the ratio between the Market Cap of BTC and its Realized Cap. Related Reading: Bitcoin STH Profit-Taking Ramps Up As Price Breaks $74,000 The Market Cap here is simply the total value of the Bitcoin circulating supply at the current spot price. This metric can be considered as an estimate of the value that the investors as a whole are carrying in the present. The Realized Cap, in contrast, measures the value that the holders initially put into the cryptocurrency. It does so by summing up the last blockchain transaction price of each token in circulation. As the MVRV Ratio compares the two metrics, its value essentially tells us about the profit-loss status of the network. When the indicator is greater than 1, it means the investors as a whole are sitting on some net unrealized profit. On the other hand, it being under the threshold suggests the dominance of loss in the market. In the context of the current topic, the MVRV Ratio of the entire network isn’t of interest, but rather that of two segments of it: 30-day and 365-day buyers. Below is the chart shared by Santiment that shows the trend in the metric separately for the two Bitcoin cohorts. In the graph, the MVRV Ratio is displayed as a percentage, with the 1 level corresponding to the 0% mark. It would appear that the metric was sitting at +7.1% for the 30-day investors at the time that the analytics firm made the post, indicating a profitable status for the recent buyers. Generally, holders become more likely to sell the larger that their profits get, so it’s possible that these short-term traders could be tempted to take their gains of the rally. BTC has seen a notable pullback in the past day and it may be due to profit realization from these investors. While the new buyers have been in gains, the 1-year investors haven’t been so fortunate. As is visible in the chart, the MVRV Ratio of this cohort has been around -22.1% recently, which is inside a region that Santiment defines as pertaining to an “opportunity” zone. Related Reading: Cardano Chop Nearing End? Here’s The Key Resistance To Watch Given this dominance of losses among this cohort, Bitcoin may not be set up badly from a long-term perspective. It only remains to be seen, however, how the asset will develop in the coming months. BTC Price Bitcoin has plummeted to the $71,100 level following its price drop over the past day. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Major Wall Street investors poured $500 million into Ripple in 2025 — a figure that reflects just how embedded XRP has become in the company’s financial backbone, and why analysts say Ripple has little reason to walk away from it. Related Reading: Another Bitcoin Buy Coming? Saylor Sparks Speculation With ‘Orange Dots’ Post A newly circulated academic paper, published in Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, argues that XRP’s role in Ripple’s cross-border payment network makes abandonment not just unlikely, but structurally difficult. The paper was brought to wider attention by XRP community researcher SMQKE. The Case Against Cutting Ties Ripple Payments — formerly known as RippleNet — uses XRP as a bridge asset to move money across borders quickly and cheaply. According to the paper, that dependency runs deep. XRP helps guard against double-spending risks while cutting the delays that plague traditional payment systems. Banks like Bank of America and Santander are among the financial institutions connected to Ripple’s network. That kind of institutional footprint makes any sudden pivot away from XRP a complicated proposition, reports indicate. ‼️ WHY RIPPLE WILL NEVER ABANDON XRP‼️ Read closely.????????️ “Because RippleNet DEPENDS much on XRP, the XRP will coexist with Ripple Labs.”✅ “In this way, as long as Ripple Labs is widely used for its cross-board real-time payment business, the XRP market will ALWAYS work as a… pic.twitter.com/9YZvBLoExt — SMQKE (@SMQKEDQG) March 13, 2026 The paper stops short of declaring XRP untouchable. It points to regulatory tightening and rival technologies as real threats that could reshape how Ripple operates in the long run. Still, its central conclusion is that XRP and Ripple are likely to remain tied together for the foreseeable future. XRP’s Broader Ambitions Beyond payments, Ripple has explored positioning XRP as a neutral go-between for central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. The idea is that XRP could connect different national digital currencies without requiring the parties to rely on traditional financial intermediaries. That ambition signals something important. Ripple isn’t treating XRP as a legacy product to be quietly retired. Based on reports, the company has been actively expanding its use cases rather than winding them down. CEO Brad Garlinghouse has publicly described XRP as the company’s guiding purpose. His exact words, often repeated in the XRP community: “XRP is our north star.” Related Reading: XRP Moves Into ‘Scarce Zone’ As Exchange Supply Dries Up Stablecoin Launch Adds A New Layer Ripple’s rollout of RLUSD, its own stablecoin, has fed speculation that XRP might be getting sidelined. Some observers read the move as a sign that Ripple is hedging its bets with a more stable asset. Ripple executives have pushed back on that reading. They maintain XRP is not being replaced — that RLUSD operates alongside it, not instead of it. The academic paper largely supports that position. It frames XRP as central to both network security and overall system efficiency, not as a technology on its way out. Whether that holds as stablecoins gain ground across the broader payments industry remains an open question. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
A key price level is giving Bitcoin trouble — and on-chain data may explain why. Related Reading: XRP Moves Into ‘Scarce Zone’ As Exchange Supply Dries Up Realized Price Puts A Ceiling On The Rally The $75,000 mark is not just a round number for Bitcoin traders. It sits at the lower band of what analysts call the “traders’ on-chain Realized Price” — a metric that tracks the average price at which active market participants last moved their coins. According to CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno, that band has historically acted as a ceiling during bear markets, and it appears to be doing the same thing now. Bitcoin tested the $75,000 level three times on Coinbase in a single 24-hour stretch and was turned back each time. The rally itself has been real. Bitcoin climbed roughly 12% in March, touching a six-week high of around $76,000 on March 17. But momentum has stalled right where analysts warned it might. Large Deposits Flood Into Exchanges What makes the stall more significant is what’s happening behind the scenes. On March 16, hourly Bitcoin inflows to centralized exchanges surged to 6,100 BTC — the highest single-hour reading since February 20. Data shows that large deposits made up over 60% of that total, the biggest share since mid-October 2025. When traders move Bitcoin onto exchanges, it usually means one thing: they’re getting ready to sell. Moreno said that historically, spikes in large exchange deposits have been tied to rising selling pressure. The timing — right as Bitcoin ran into resistance — is hard to ignore. The question now is whether that selling pressure will be enough to push prices back down, or whether buyers will absorb it and push through the $75,000 wall. Fed Decision Adds To Market Uncertainty Broader financial conditions are adding another layer of complexity. The Federal Reserve is set to announce its rate decision Wednesday, and based on CME futures, traders are pricing in a 98.9% chance that rates stay where they are — with just a 1.1% chance of a hike. But holding rates steady may not be the most market-moving part of the announcement. Reports indicate the Federal Reserve could signal that no rate cuts are coming at all in 2026, citing ongoing inflation concerns and the fallout from the US-Iran war. That kind of guidance tends to weigh on risk assets. Related Reading: Another Bitcoin Buy Coming? Saylor Sparks Speculation With ‘Orange Dots’ Post The Harder Wall Still Lies Ahead Even if Bitcoin manages to clear $75,000 with enough conviction to hold, there is another obstacle waiting higher up. The full Realized Price — which reflects the average break-even level for active traders — currently sits near $84,700. That figure acted as resistance in both October and January. Clearing $75,000 would be a start. Getting to $84,700 would be a different challenge entirely. Featured image from West Coast Trial Lawyers, chart from TradingView
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has crossed the 760,000 Bitcoin threshold with its latest purchase, bringing its total holdings to 761,068 BTC as of March 16, 2026. The market intelligence company continues to purchase BTC, despite broader market downtrends and ongoing volatility. Against this backdrop, AI analysis is now shedding light on how long it could take for Strategy to reach the 1 million BTC milestone, with different models projecting varying timelines. Grok AI Predicts When Strategy Hits 1 Million BTC Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings have surpassed 761,000 BTC after its record weekly purchase of 22,3337 BTC for approximately $1.57 billion. The company’s aggressive accumulation strategy, led by CEO Michael Saylor, is accelerated by its ambition to grow its Bitcoin treasury as substantially as possible, with some analysts projecting it could reach a million BTC cap by the end of 2026. Related Reading: Here’s How Much Saylor’s Strategy Makes Every Time Bitcoin Goes Up By $1,000 However, according to projections from Grok, the AI platform created by xAI and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Strategy could realistically reach the one million BTC milestone as early as September 2026. Grok’s forecast is based on the company’s recent purchase velocity, which has increased significantly over the past few years. In the three weeks leading up to mid-March, Strategy acquired between 3,015 and 22,337 BTC per week, averaging roughly 14,450 BTC. If the company can maintain this pace, Grok predicts that it could mathematically reach the one million BTC mark by early July this year. However, maintaining such aggressive weekly acquisitions would require continuous capital raises exceeding $1 billion per week, which Grok notes is unlikely. The AI platform noted that the company currently needs an additional 238,932 BTC from its holdings to reach its official target. A more sustainable pace, accounting for historical averages of roughly 2,500 BTC per week with the STRC preferred stock funding program, points to a more realistic timeline around September 2026. This projection takes into account market liquidity, sustainable fundraising, dilution concerns, market volatility, and other key factors. ChatGPT Forecasts Strategy’s 1 Million Bitcoin Timeline ChatGPT AI projects a slightly more conservative scenario based on historical buying trends, capital capacity, and market conditions. According to the AI platform, Strategy would need approximately 5,550 BTC each week to hit 1 million BTC by December 2026, about 50-100% above its recent weekly averages. Related Reading: Bitcoin Is Still Bearish And Price Is Headed Below $50,000; Analyst While this goal is ambitious, the AI suggests it could realistically be achieved by 2027. Its analysis indicates that if Strategy ramps up purchases through equity issuance and STRC funding, the 1 million BTC target could be recalibrated to late December 2026. However, factors such as market liquidity, price volatility, and uneven weekly acquisitions make it more plausible that the goal could slip into early January 2027. The AI platform noted that delays beyond this window are unlikely, given the company’s historically strong commitment to BTC accumulation and its funding resources. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin is starting to show intriguing signals on the monthly time frame, with long-term data hinting at a potential shift in market structure. While short-term price action often captures attention, it is the higher-time-frame trends that typically define the broader market direction, and those signals are now starting to align in a way that looks increasingly significant. What The Monthly Candles Reveal About Market Direction The latest price action of Bitcoin suggests that the monthly low may already be in, with time-based statistics pointing to a strong probability of higher prices ahead. Market analyst Lennaert Snyder highlighted on X that, based on the past 10 years of BTC data, approximately 97.7% of monthly highs and lows are formed within the first 15 days of the month, suggesting the recent low is likely to hold for the rest of the month. Related Reading: Bitcoin Is Showing A Major Deviation From 2022, Analyst Says This Is A Different Foundation Snyder noted that around 80.7% of months go on to print a new P2 (Point 2) after the 17th day, based on the timing. These time-based statistics suggest that there is a higher chance that the BTC price will experience upward momentum this month. How Market Structure Holds While Timing Models Shift Bitcoin is showing a subtle shift in behavior as price has broken away from the established 14th pattern for the first time in the past 7 months, causing the market algorithms to shift over time. A crypto trader known as Killa on X claimed that it was possible to capitalize on all 5 occurrences of this setup during that period. Related Reading: Bitcoin Shows Early Trend Reversal Signs After Major Support Hold However, the current deviation represents only a single pivot from a time-based price structure, which on its own is not enough to invalidate the larger thesis. This simply alters how the price reacts around that specific pivot rather than changing the overall trend structure of the market. Killa emphasized that in this case, pivot helps identify periods where directional volatility is likely to increase, and this consistent pattern over the past 7 months has produced 5 high-quality opportunities. It is important to distinguish between time-based pivots and price structure. While pivots can fail or lose reliability over time, the underlying structural price behavior will ultimately remain a driver of the market direction. Looking ahead, attention is shifting to macro catalysts as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is approaching, and much of the narrative has already been priced in. Institutional players are already positioning ahead of the event. Currently, the price has pushed higher into it, and the recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) data did not produce a local up, leaving open the possibility that the upcoming FOMC decision could act as the next inflection point. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token moved into the top 10 crypto assets by market capitalization, beating Cardano's ADA amid a 1,700-fold rise in trading volume tied to oil volatility during the US-Iran conflict. Notably, Bitcoin benefited significantly from the broader bid for crypto during the conflict, but HYPE gained a second channel as traders used Hyperliquid's platform […]
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The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin as tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran continue to shape global markets. Data from CryptoSlate shows ETH has risen 18% against the dollar since the start of March, compared with a 13% gain for Bitcoin over the same period. The ETH/BTC ratio has also moved higher, rising 7.6% to […]
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Bitcoin (BTC) is hanging around $74k, still respecting the post‑shock range and struggling to clear recent highs. Bitcoin Range Holds Today’s QCP Market Colour reports that “the damage has been fairly contained”: the broader crypto market is soft compared with November–January, but continues to be under pressure, as other macro‑sensitive risk assets have fallen harder, although the pullback has been fairly limited in comparison. Dip‑buying interest appears near the lower end of the range, yet spot volumes are light and the tape feels macro‑led rather than crypto‑idiosyncratic. Related Reading: Crypto Payments Are Going Mainstream: Can Tourists Turn Into Daily Users In South Korea? In options, the tone remains firm but quietly defensive. Thirty‑day implied volatility is holding around the 50 handle, still sitting above realized, which keeps carry positive and makes short‑vol strategies attractive for sophisticated premium sellers. At the same time, the term structure is only mildly in contango (short‑dated options are cheaper than longer‑dated ones), signaling a market that is alert to risk but not trading in outright panic mode. Under the surface, skew tells a more cautious story. Thirty‑day risk reversals continue to price puts richer than calls, a sign that traders are willing to pay up for downside protection even with spot pinned near the top end of the range. Skew is not extreme: the fact that traders consistently favor puts over calls implies they mostly hold long bitcoin positions but are protecting themselves with hedges, instead of being outright, unhedged bulls. Further out the curve, a residual geopolitical premium remains embedded, reflecting ongoing concerns around oil, conflicts, and the broader stagflation narrative, QCP reports suggest. The Fed Takes Centre Stage Macro is firmly in the driver’s seat as markets head into one of the densest policy weeks of the year so far: The Fed takes the stage on Wednesday, followed in quick succession by the ECB, BoJ and BoE on Thursday, concentrating rates risk into a 48‑hour window. Higher oil near $100 is complicating the case for rate cuts with sticky inflation prints and higher energy costs just as growth and labor data soften, so markets have dialed back easing expectations. Oil trades at $95 on the daily chart. Source: OILUSD on Tradingview For crypto, that mix is a double‑edged sword. A less dovish rates path keeps real yields elevated and limits the upside impulse from the “liquidity trade” that powered earlier legs of the rally. At the same time, oil hovering near triple digits and lingering geopolitical tension are feeding a stagflationary tone across assets, blurring Bitcoin’s role between high‑beta risk and potential macro hedge. Related Reading: Crypto Rails Go Mainstream — Inside Mastercard’s Bold $1.8 Billion BVNK Acquisition What This Means For Traders The setup still looks like a range rather than a clean trend. Options show no panic, but richer puts underline ongoing demand for downside protection. Until policy guidance or geopolitics provide a clearer signal, BTC is likely to remain trapped in its range, trading as a macro‑sensitive asset rather than a purely crypto‑native story. In simpler words, BTC is no longer behaving as pure high‑beta tech, but it is not yet seeing consistent, gold‑style safe‑haven inflows either. That backdrop favors structured premium selling and disciplined range‑trading over chasing breakouts. At the moment of writing, BTC's price sits in the highs $72k. Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview Cover image from Perplexity, OILUSD and BTCUSD charts from Tradingview
The crypto market has entered a corrective phase, with Bitcoin (BTC) price dropping to around $71,500, down nearly 3.33%, while Ethereum (ETH) price has also slipped below $2,200 alongside broader market weakness. The pullback follows a recent multi-day rally, suggesting a shift in short-term momentum as traders turn cautious ahead of key macro developments. The …
Strategy's STRC-fueled bitcoin buying spree is helping to drive demand but introduces sentiment-sensitive structural risks, according to K33.
Bitcoin is entering the FOMC meeting with a unique market structure, diverging sharply from typical pre-event positioning. While BTC price has gained nearly 5% over the past week, derivatives data shows growing skepticism, with funding rates turning negative across major exchanges. In the last 48 hours, Bitcoin has plunged below $72,400, with a 1.81% drop. …
Bitcoin has mostly traded around $74,000 on Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's policy decision. However, as of press time, Bitcoin has just lost the $73,500 support, with a route to $72,000 now in sight. The meeting is expected to leave the federal funds target range at 3.50% to 3.75% while updating projections […]
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