By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
Bitcoin BTC$71,238.09 and the wider crypto market are pushing higher despite the geopolitical whiplash. While the resilience is impressive, a bullish trend change needs a firm move above $75,000.
On Monday, President Donald Trump disclosed a five-day delay in strikes on Iran, claiming talks are underway. That calmed markets and lifted bitcoin to over $71,000. The optimism did not last long. Iran quickly denied talks, and Israel continued its attacks on the country, which responded by targeting Tel Aviv overnight.
Still, bitcoin held steady and is looking to extend yesterday's 4.47% surge, the biggest since March 4. Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL) are following BTC's lead, as usual, alongside a 24-hour jump of 4% in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
Though the move higher is encouraging for bulls, the real test will be around $75,000, which has been a major turning point at least twice in the past 12 months. The March-April 2025 slide ran out of steam at around $75,000, while the early 2024 rally faced resistance there. Furthermore, $75,000 corresponds to key Fibonacci retracement levels.
"Although the leading cryptocurrency did not immediately capitalize on the upward momentum and extend its gains, simply remaining at these high levels now suggests confidence among the bulls. They are gradually developing a more optimistic outlook," Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at the FxPro, said in an email.
"However, it would be premature to declare the end of the downtrend until prices settle above $75K, where the March pivot points and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level from the January-February decline are concentrated."
In other words, a convincing move above $75,000 would confirm a bull revival. Solana's SOL token, which is trading near $90, could emerge as a star performer in that case.
"Sol is the brighter spot. Near 91$, it is showing that risk appetite is not dead. The institutional privacy framework angle matters longer term because it is about making Sol tradable for bigger pools of capital, not just faster for retail," Marex's research team, led by crypto trading analyst Louis De Backer, said.
In the meantime, demand from crypto investors for traditional assets is pushing exchanges to expand their offerings, with a race underway to launch 24/7 stock perpetual futures. Today, OKX announced the launch of more than 20 equity perpetual swaps, giving traders round-the-clock exposure to some of the world’s most popular stocks.
In traditional markets, the focus remains on volatility in U.S. Treasury yields, which could cap upside in risk assets in the near term. Over time, sustained volatility may prompt intervention from the Federal Reserve, potentially setting the stage for a stronger risk-on environment. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today
What to Watch
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
- Crypto
- Nothing scheduled.
- Macro
- March 24, 8:15 a.m.: U.S. ADP Employment Change Weekly (Prev. 9K)
- March 24, 9:45 a.m.: U.S. S&P Global Composite PMI Flash for March (Prev. 51.9); Manufacturing PMI (Prev. 51.6); Services PMI (Prev. 51.7)
- March 24, 6:30 p.m.: Fed Gov. Michael Barr Speech on "Economic Outlook and Community Development" at National Community Investment Conference, Phoenix
- Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
- March 24: GameStop (GME), post-market, $0.31
Token Events
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
- Governance votes & calls
- StakeDAO’s sdSPECTRA is voting on the Spectra gauge weight allocation for the period of March 26 to April 1, 2026. Voting ends March 24.
- March 24: Axie Infinity to host a Lunacian lounge with updates on what's ahead for the ecosystem.
- Unlocks
- No major unlocks.
- Token Launches
- No major launches.
Conferences
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
- Day 2 of 7: Polish Blockchain Week (Warsaw)
- Day 1 of 3: Digital Asset Summit 2026 (New York City)
Market Movements
- BTC is up 0.57% from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday at $71,224.20 (24hrs: +4.30%)
- ETH is unchanged at $2,159.68 (24hrs: +5.85%)
- CoinDesk 20 is up 0.34% at 2,046.50 (24hrs: +4.15%)
- Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 2 bps at 2.81%
- BTC funding rate is at 0.0063% (6.8602% annualized) on Binance
- DXY is up 0.34% at 99.29
- Gold futures are up 0.28% at $4,416.60
- Silver futures are up 1.44% at $70.04
- Nikkei 225 closed up 1.43% at 52,252.28
- Hang Seng closed up 2.79% at 25,063.71
- FTSE 100 is down 0.20% at 9,874.59
- Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.47% at 5,548.16
- DJIA closed on Monday up 1.38% at 46,208.47
- S&P 500 closed up 1.15% at 6,581.00
- Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.38% at 21,946.76
- S&P/TSX Composite closed up 1.81% at 31,883.81
- S&P 40 Latin America closed up 2.07% at 3,222.70
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is down 6 bps at 4.33%
- E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.18% at 6,623.00
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.10% at 24,383.75
- E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.23% at 46,415.00
Bitcoin Stats
- BTC Dominance: 59.12% (0.07%)
- Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.03033 (-0.06%)
- Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 983 EH/s
- Hashprice (spot): $33.61
- Total fees: 2.45 BTC / $171,175
- CME Futures Open Interest: 116,490 BTC
- BTC priced in gold: 16.1 oz.
- BTC vs gold market cap: 4.75%
Technical Analysis
Ether's daily chart (TradingView)- The chart shows ether's daily price swings in candlestick format since May 2025.
- The ETH price appears stuck in a choppy back-and-forth trading range, within a broader bearish trend.
- A potential move past $2,440 would confirm a dual breakout, signaling a bullish shift.
Crypto Equities
- Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN): closed on Monday at $200.62 (+1.58%), +0.78% at $202.18 in pre-market
- Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $21.70 (+4.73%), +0.28% at $21.76
- MARA Holdings, Inc. (MARA): closed at $8.91 (+5.32%), +0.56% at $8.96
- Riot Platforms, Inc. (RIOT): closed at $14.37 (+7.40%), +0.42% at $14.43
- Core Scientific, Inc. (CORZ): closed at $16.58 (+4.87%), –0.18% at $16.55
- CleanSpark, Inc. (CLSK): closed at $9.98 (+6.17%), +0.50% at $10.03
- Exodus Movement, Inc. (EXOD): closed at $8.12 (+10.03%), unchanged in pre-market
- CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI): closed at $39.40 (+4.56%), +0.15% at $39.46
- Circle Internet Group (CRCL): closed at $126.64 (+0.48%), –0.39% at $126.15
- Bullish (BLSH): closed at $39.55 (+4.16%), –0.96% at $39.17
Crypto Treasury Companies
- Strategy (MSTR): closed at $138.20 (+1.87%), +0.61% at $139.04
- Strive Asset Management, LLC (ASST): closed at $10.44 (+4.19%), –0.48% at $10.39
- Sharplink, Inc. (SBET): closed at $7.51 (+1.49%), unchanged in pre-market
- Upexi, Inc. (UPXI): closed at $1.17 (+10.38%), +0.85% at $1.18
- Lite Strategy, Inc. (LITS): closed at $1.18 (+0.85%)
ETF Flows
Spot BTC ETFs
- Daily net flows: $167.2 million
- Cumulative net flows: $56.38 billion
- Total BTC holdings ~1.29 million
Spot ETH ETFs
- Daily net flows: -$16.2 million
- Cumulative net flows: $11.74 billion
- Total ETH holdings ~5.8 million
Source: Farside Investors
While You Were Sleeping
- Iran sends waves of missiles into Israel, dismisses Trump's talk of negotiations as 'fake news' (Reuters): Iran targeted Tel Aviv, hitting apartment buildings, a day after U.S. President Trump said there had been productive talks on halting the conflict.
- Gulf states edge toward joining fight against Iran (The Wall Street Journal): U.S. allies in the region have not yet deployed their militaries, a line the Gulf’s rulers have hoped not to cross, though pressure rises as Iran threatens to exert more power.
- Balancer Labs will shut down as corporate entity became 'a liability' after $110 million exploit (CoinDesk): Balancer co-founder Fernando Martinelli announced Tuesday that Balancer Labs, the company that built decentralized finance (DeFi) powerhouse Balancer, is closing. The protocol will restructure as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
