Bitcoin once again slipped under the $70,000 threshold after briefly spiking above $71,000 during a volatile session tied to developments in the Middle East. Pi Network's PI token climbed nearly 5% after Kraken said it would enable trading from March 13, while HYPE, TAO, and SKY led gains among major altcoins and ETH stayed above $2,000.

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart highlighted that spot XRP ETFs have accumulated more than $1.4 billion in inflows since their mid-November launch, even as XRP's price has slumped. In March 2026, the five US-listed funds recorded net outflows of $26.07 million across several trading days, following strong inflows in November and December.

Pi Network's PI token will begin trading on major US exchange Kraken on March 13, 2026, shortly before the community's Pi Day on March 14. Despite the high-profile listing and recent protocol upgrades, PI's price has stayed flat over the past 24 hours, although it has posted strong gains over the past week and month.

The US Labor Department reported a 0.3% rise in the February Consumer Price Index and a 2.4% annual increase, both in line with forecasts. Core CPI gained 0.2% month-over-month, while Bitcoin briefly swung between $69,000 and $69,800 before stabilizing around $69,300. Analysts now expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming FOMC meeting.

Bitcoin has pulled back from a recent high of $71,800 to trade below $70,000, while its market dominance has slipped under 57%. In contrast to the broader altcoin downturn, ICP has jumped about 12% to $2.7 following an Upbit listing, and PI has risen roughly 6% to near $0.23 as the total crypto market cap drops to $2.450 trillion.

PI, the native token of Pi Network, has risen more than 6% in the last 24 hours to trade just under $0.23 after recent protocol upgrades and ahead of the v20.2 update expected by March 12. It has gained 56% over the past month and is up 73% from its $0.1312 all-time low set on February 11, while traders also watch an upcoming token unlock totaling over 17 million coins by March 17.

Crypto analyst Merlijn The Trader argued that the latest end of quantitative tightening, officially set for December 1, 2025, mirrors conditions seen in 2019 before bitcoin rallied from $3,000 to $69,000. He expects a new upward cycle if BTC can stay above $70,000, with a deeper accumulation phase below $60,000, and projects a possible multi-six-figure price as the market moves through manipulation and distribution phases. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe, focusing on shorter-term moves as BTC touched $71,000, targets $75,000 and potentially $80,000 within the same month while anticipating stronger relative performance from altcoins.

Bitcoin climbed from a low of $65,500 on Monday to just above $71,000, lifting its market capitalization to $1.420 trillion and pushing dominance beyond 57%. Ethereum moved back above $2,050, BNB neared $650, and Hyperliquid (HYPE) led major altcoin gains with an 11% rally to nearly $35, while overall crypto market capitalization increased by about $100 billion to approach $2.5 trillion.

BitMine, chaired by Tom Lee, has purchased an additional 60,976 ETH for close to $123 million, lifting its total Ethereum holdings to 4,535,563 coins valued at over $9 billion. The firm, which also reports $1.2 billion in cash and several other crypto and equity positions, plans to modestly speed up ETH accumulation as the price trades just above $2,000 after recent market volatility.