Exhausted sellers may be giving Bitcoin some breathing room — but analysts say that’s a long way from a recovery. Related Reading: SEC Vs. Justin Sun Case Ends In $10M Settlement, Traders Eye TRX Price Reaction US Buyers Return, Pushing Prices Off Multi-Week Lows Data from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant shows the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium — a measure of US-based buying demand — has flipped from its most negative readings in early February to its highest point since October. That shift helped carry Bitcoin to a one-month high of $74,000 on Thursday, briefly touching the 50-day exponential moving average. It didn’t last. By Friday morning, the price had dropped more than $3,000, sliding back below $71,000 as momentum faded almost as fast as it built. The rally came alongside a wave of ETF inflows and what Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, called “renewed risk appetite.” But even as buyers stepped in, the broader conditions hadn’t changed. Ruck said that the advance “quickly faced headwinds,” with macro uncertainty and softer economic signals pulling the market back down. Bitcoin is still in a bear market despite the recent rally. Our Bull Score Index remains at 10/100, deep in bearish territory. The current move is likely just a relief rally, not the start of a new bull phase. pic.twitter.com/bh4O6jQPD6 — CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) March 5, 2026 Bear Market Indicators Remain At Historic Lows CryptoQuant’s Bull Score Index — a composite reading of Bitcoin’s technical and fundamental health — sits at just 10 out of 100. That places it, by the firm’s own assessment, deep in negative territory. Reports from the firm say the number hasn’t moved despite the recent price action. “Even after the recent price rally, fundamental and technical indicators still point to a bear market environment,” CryptoQuant stated Thursday. The firm was blunt about what the brief climb likely represents: a short-term release of pressure, not a turning point. Unrealized losses among traders and long-term holders had reached levels last seen in July 2022 before the recent easing. That kind of exhaustion can slow a slide without reversing it. One signal pointing to easing pressure emerged Friday, when analysts said market momentum appears to be approaching a “critical shift.” According to their assessment, Bitcoin may be moving out of a phase marked by peak negative momentum — a stage that has often preceded broader changes in market direction. What follows that shift, and how quickly it unfolds, remains uncertain. Related Reading: Solana Stablecoins Hit $650 Billion In Monthly Transactions Macro Headwinds Keep A Lid On Any Optimism February nonfarm payrolls data, expected to show a slowdown, loomed as an added weight on sentiment. Analysts pointed to those “softer macro signals” as a reason cryptocurrencies remain open to fresh downside. Liquidity conditions had been supportive enough to spark the relief move, but not strong enough to sustain it. Bitcoin’s brief climb above $74,000 drew attention. The pullback drew more. With the Bull Score Index anchored near the floor and macro conditions still unsettled, analysts are watching for whether US buying demand holds — or fades just like the rally did. Featured image from Defenders of Wildlife, chart from TradingView
Kalshi and Polymarket discuss new funding rounds that could value each prediction market platform near $20 billion.
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A new outlook from market analyst Luke Suther shows a long-term valuation path for the XRP price, stretching from its current value of under $1.5 to over $18, $100, $500, and even $10,000 per coin. The projection ties price to real-world adoption and institutional use rather than speculation, highlighting how XRP’s value could grow as payment infrastructure integrates blockchain settlement. XRP Price Ladder From $2 To $100 In his post on X, Suther laid out a detailed price ladder for XRP, arguing that the cryptocurrency’s progress toward major milestones reflects real-world utility and institutional adoption. At the $2 mark, the framework begins with early-adopter corridors opening and pilot programs demonstrating genuine bank participation. In this stage, financial institutions begin experimenting with XRP, testing whether blockchain-based settlement can improve speed and reduce cost compared to traditional banking systems. Related Reading: Analyst Predicts 1,500% XRP Price Increase To $15 If This Is A Wave 2 From there, the path to $18 is built on the scaling of cross-border payments, with activity expected to expand significantly. This target is also supported by improvements in regulatory clarity that enable financial flows to move more freely and give institutions confidence in the legal framework surrounding XRP. The next major milestone arrives at $100. At this level, Suther expects XRP to serve as a core bridge asset for global payments, meaning it would be regularly used to convert value between different national currencies during international transactions. In such a scenario, liquidity becomes the driving force behind the price rally. As more institutions tap into the XRP Ledger (XRPL), deeper pools of XRP would be needed to ensure that payments move instantly across corridors connecting banks and financial markets. XRP Price Expansion From $500 To Over $10,000 Following its projected price rally to $100, Suther has set $500 as XRP’s next ambitious target. The analyst has stated that for XRP to reach this level, the asset would need to support deep liquidity pools capable of handling multi-trillion dollar flows. At this stage, he says the network effect would also become a powerful growth driver. Related Reading: Pundit Says XRP Price At $100 Is Not Insane If You Understand This The next target after the $500 target is $1000. By this level, the analyst stated that systemic reliance on XRP would begin to form. In that environment, banks, multinational corporations, and payment providers would conduct routine financial operations directly on rails powered by XRP’s liquidity. Such reliance would mean XRP would no longer be treated as a speculative token but a digital asset supporting real economic activity. For his final and most dramatic target, Suther predicts an explosive surge above $10,000. In this stage, XRP is expected to serve as a global settlement backbone used across international financial systems. He stressed that the cryptocurrency’s price growth would not be based on hype or market excitement. Instead, it would reflect structural demand that highlights the scale of utility underpinning the XRPL network. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
Following a three-day streak above $70K, Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen below this resistance level, trading at $68,131 (down 3.96% in 24) at the time of writing. Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant shows that Bitcoin selling pressure among short-term holders (STHs), or people who hold BTC for less than 155 days, has recently spiked. In the last …
Kalshi is facing a class action lawsuit based on its handling of a recent market related to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Susquehanna backed crypto trading firm BlockFills seeks restructuring after losses, frozen withdrawals, and a lawsuit from a customer.
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Apollo Crypto has made Hyperliquid its largest altcoin position, with head of research Pratik Kala arguing that the protocol stands apart not only because of its product-market fit, but because its token design and expanding market structure give traders something few crypto venues currently offer: usable, revenue-linked infrastructure. In comments shared via X, Kala described Hyperliquid in unusually direct terms. “Hyperliquid is our biggest altcoin position in the fund. Why? Because it is phenomenal. The product works,” he said. For Apollo, the case appears to rest on two pillars: the exchange’s traction as a trading venue, and a token model Kala framed as cleaner and more transparent than much of the industry’s recent experimentation. He contrasted Hyperliquid’s buyback structure with the more convoluted token systems that defined earlier market cycles. “The tokenomics is refreshing. It uses 97 to 99%, depending on how you want to calculate it, of all the revenues to buy back its token in a very transparent manner. No governance mumbo-jumbo. No, you know, a token feeding into some other token and some dynamic inflation, burning, minting stuff that has destroyed many people’s capital and brains, to be frank, over the last few years.” Related Reading: Next “Binance Killer”? Hyperliquid Now Dominates DeFi Derivatives, New Report Shows That framing is central to Apollo’s thesis. Kala’s argument is not simply that Hyperliquid has momentum, but that it has paired a working product with a token accrual model that traders can actually follow. In a sector where valuation stories often hinge on future governance or vague utility, he presented Hyperliquid as comparatively straightforward: trading activity generates revenue, and that revenue feeds token buybacks. He also pointed to adoption trends. According to Kala, “a lot of the volumes are going there,” while market makers and funds are increasingly using the platform. He argued that Hyperliquid has been superior “in many, many ways,” particularly in how it handles new listings, pre-markets and other product extensions. A major part of the bullish case, though, is HIP-3, which Kala said is already opening up tradable opportunities outside the usual crypto schedule. He described a weekend trade tied to news that OpenAI had secured a contract after Anthropic would not allow its AI technology to be used by the Department of Defense. Because the development broke while traditional markets were closed, Kala said most market participants were effectively stuck on the sidelines. “Personally, I made 50%. How? Because HIP3, OpenAI, Anthropic were both trading on HIP3,” he said. “Liquidity is not fantastic, but OpenAI went up 50% on the weekend. Anthropic was static, could have expected that you could have taken a spread trade where you can short Anthropic and long open AI. Do it on HIP3, you can make money, you can generate alpha.” That example gets to the broader point Apollo is making. HIP-3 is not being pitched merely as another product vertical, but as a venue where traders can express event-driven views in assets that are normally inaccessible when news breaks. Kala said the market now includes private-market trading as well as listed equities and commodities such as oil, gold and silver on weekends. Related Reading: Hyperliquid (HYPE) Eyes Native Token Issuance With Latest Upgrade Plan He offered one data point to show early traction: during a recent silver mania, HIP-3 briefly accounted for 1% to 2% of global silver volumes, despite having launched only around a month to six weeks earlier. For Kala, that signals not retail novelty but serious engagement from hedge funds, sophisticated investors and active portfolio managers looking for round-the-clock execution. He added that HIP-3 revenues are split 50-50 between deployed markets and Hyperliquid, with Hyperliquid’s share feeding back into HYPE buybacks. From Apollo’s perspective, that strengthens the flywheel rather than diluting it. Kala also flagged what could come next. He said HIP-4, focused on prediction markets and options, could push the platform further, while regulatory shifts in the US may eventually open a path for a KYC-compliant version there. Competition exists, he acknowledged, including from rival platforms such as Lighter. But in Apollo’s view, Hyperliquid has already done something harder than launching a new venue: it has captured trader attention, liquidity and, increasingly, loyalty. At press time, HYPE traded at $30.485. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The bill establishes Florida-centric consumer protections and safeguards against money laundering
Nevin Shetty was convicted of wire fraud related to secretly moving $35 million in funds from a Seattle startup to his own crypto platform in 2022 to use for DeFi investments.
Google says Anthropic AI models will remain available on Google Cloud despite Pentagon restrictions limiting defense use of Claude systems.
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Grammarly's “Expert Review” feature uses AI to give feedback through the lens of noted writers and scholars—some of whom are no longer living.
Washington lawmakers are moving on multiple fronts to curb the most politically toxic corners of prediction markets after millions of dollars flowed into bets tied to US-linked military action in Iran. Over the past week, several Democratic lawmakers have been pursuing multiple paths to rein in the fast-rising business. One effort, led by Rep. Mike […]
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Florida passes stablecoin bill creating licensing and compliance rules for issuers awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis signature.
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Bitcoin sold off below $70,000 on Friday, leading analysts to conclude that this week’s breakout to $74,000 was a relief rally rather than a longer-lasting sign of a trend change.
The Curve Finance team told PancakeSwap that it must go through the proper licensing process to collaborate and use code created by Curve.
Institutional interest continues to grow, but a stronger dollar and shifting interest rate expectations are keeping a lid on the latest rally.
Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed to the SEC's recent settlement with Tron founder Justin Sun, saying “any crypto legislation moving through Congress“ should address corruption.
Profit-taking by short-term Bitcoin traders accelerated the BTC drop below $70,000, but spot and futures traders may kickstart a quick recovery.
Data of the Bitcoin URPD shows a supply chasm exists between $72,000 and $81,000, potentially making resistance in the region relatively light. Bitcoin URPD Signals Air Gap Until $81,000 In a new post on X, analyst Ali Martinez has talked about how Bitcoin support and resistance levels are looking from the perspective of the UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD). This indicator tells us about the amount of supply that was last transacted or purchased at the various price levels that BTC has visited in its history. Related Reading: Bitcoin Spot ETFs See 14-Day Netflows Surge: Demand Returning? Below is the chart shared by Martinez that shows the URPD for Bitcoin as it currently stands. From the graph, it’s visible that the levels between $60,000 and $70,000 hold the cost basis of a notable amount of the supply. The $67,000 mark, in particular, has a huge value on the URPD. Earlier, the bearish price action had meant that Bitcoin slipped all the way to the $60,000 level. What had followed the decline was a consolidation period in the region below $70,000. As the price moved sideways here and trading occurred, supply saw repricing into levels falling inside the range, which is potentially why the region is now looking so dense on the URPD. This week, Bitcoin has finally seen a breakout above $70,000, meaning that it’s now past the dense zone. As is apparent from the chart, the nearby levels in the up direction only hold a relatively small share of the supply. Generally, when the market mood is bearish, investors in loss can react to surges to their acquisition level by exiting the market. They may do so fearing that the price rally is only temporary and that they could fall underwater again. Due to this, large levels of the URPD that are situated above the spot price can act as potential centers of resistance in the future. Since the $72,000 to $81,000 price range is relatively thin with supply right now, it may not provide too much resistance to Bitcoin. As the analyst explains, “if momentum builds, there is open air in that range.” For momentum to build, the support levels below might have to hold first. Just like how large supply zones above can provide resistance, those below can act as support cushions instead. This happens as investors accumulate more to defend their acquisition level. Related Reading: Bitcoin Surge To $74,000 Fueled By US Institutions, Coinbase Premium Signals As the Bitcoin market sentiment has been quite bearish recently, it remains to be seen whether dips into the supply cluster at $70,000 and below will be met with buying. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $70,500, up 4% over the past week. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Binance denied $1.7 billion in Iran sanctions violations and stood behind its compliance operations, in a new letter to Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Chicago-based BlockFills suspended client deposits and withdrawals last month citing "recent market and financial conditions."
Senate Bill 314 provides a framework for payment stablecoin issuers in the state, aligning with federal GENIUS Act standards.
Bitcoin’s brief rally above $73,000 during the past day has the feel of a price performance that could still fade, fast, noisy, and familiar to anyone who has watched bear-market rebounds fail. What is different this time is not the price print, but the growing alignment of signals pointing to a possible transition out of […]
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UK is working to finalize its broader crypto rulebook, but firms like Coinbase are urging regulators to avoid restrictive stablecoin policies.
To stay in the game, rather than try to outlearn every new release, learn how to use AI to strengthen your finances and build a buffer against industry disruption, says Naja.
Bitcoin bounced back this week as stablecoin inflows surged, and DeFi faced fresh pressure from Aave governance strife, exploits and exchange security moves.
In a Cointelegraph interview, Arthur Hayes explains why global markets may not be pricing in a longer war in the Middle East, and what that may mean for energy prices, liquidity and Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s recent break above $70,000 is leading to questions of whether this is the start of a new impulsive leg higher or just another stop in a longer bottoming process. Crypto analyst CrypFlow, posting on X, laid out a technical case for why Bitcoin may be in the early stages of forming a major cycle bottom and why October 2026 could mark the launchpad for the next full-scale bull run. The analysis is based on multi-year trendlines, cycle behavior, and the Stochastic RSI indicator. Bitcoin Is Respecting Trendline That Has Held Since 2018 Technical analysis of Bitcoin’s price action on the monthly timeframe shows that the leading cryptocurrency’s price action is still respecting a multi-year trendline that has quietly shaped Bitcoin’s biggest cycle lows. That ascending trendline connects the 2018 cycle bottom with the 2022 bottom and now appears to be acting as support again in 2026. Bitcoin’s current position is now sitting right on top of that structure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Just Flashed Death Cross That Has Led To Previous Bottoms, But What’s The Target? CrypFlow also pointed to a major horizontal zone that previously acted as resistance around the 2021 cycle top. That old ceiling around $69,000 is now being tested as support in the current price action. That kind of role reversal is very important for Bitcoin’s price action, because it shows the cryptocurrency may be trying to build a base at the intersection of that old resistance band and the rising trendline. If Bitcoin manages to stay above the current zone near $69,000 without falling to the $50,000 region, it would mirror the structure seen at the 2022 bottom. That low formed at a similar confluence where the rising trendline met the previous cycle’s resistance from the 2017 peak. Timeline For A New Bull Run Price levels get all the attention. Time gets almost none, and according to CrypFlow, that is precisely where most people are getting this cycle wrong. The analyst pointed to the Stochastic RSI to track how long this indicator has spent below the zero line during each major bear market cycle, and the historical pattern is striking in its consistency. Related Reading: Analyst Says It’s Time For Bitcoin, But What’s Important About $58,000? In the 2018/2019 cycle, the Stochastic RSI spent approximately 365 days below zero before Bitcoin mounted its real reversal and the next bull market began. The same held true in the 2022/2023 bear market cycle, where Bitcoin spent roughly one full year below zero before the sustained recovery kicked in. This cycle, however, Bitcoin’s Stochastic RSI has only been below zero for around 120 days. Putting it all together, this opens up a scenario where Bitcoin forms a double bottom later this year, likely around October 2026, before the next major bull run begins. This doesn’t necessarily mean Bitcoin is about to crash further. What it does suggest, according to CrypFlow, is that the price action hasn’t completed the slow, grinding work that true cycle bottoms are built on. Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The penalty underscores the critical need for robust system safeguards to prevent costly disruptions in financial markets.
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