Trading

Bitcoin fell below the $73,000 level after a stronger-than-expected February US Producer Price Index report unsettled risk markets. February headline PPI rose 0.7% m/m and 3.4% y/y, while core PPI increased 0.5% m/m and 3.9% y/y. Traders are now focused on the Fed's policy statement, Powell's press conference, and any shift in the dot plot for 2026 rate-cut expectations.

A TradingView analysis published March 20 by TradingShot outlines a bearish scenario in which XRP could slide toward the $0.90–$0.80 area by mid-December 2026. The view is built on weekly-chart signals, including rejection near the 50-week MA above $2.5 and risk of a breakdown under the 200-week MA around $1.05. At press time, XRP traded at $1.45, down 0.3% in 24 hours and up almost 4% on the week.

On March 20, Bitcoin mining difficulty fell 7.7% to 133.79 trillion at block 941,472 as Maestro launched Mezzamine, a BTC-denominated credit market aimed at linking institutional holders with miners seeking expansion funding. The first program, built with Sazmining, targets 8% to 9% annual yields funded by mining output, while Maestro says qualified operators have shown more than 1,500 BTC in borrowing interest. Bitcoin traded around $70,700 on March 21 after sliding from $76,000 earlier in the week.

Bitcoin has traded in a tight $69k–$71k range over the past week after gaining 5.44% in the last 30 days. March 18–20 spot ETF flows logged a $305.7 million outflow, while some exchange netflow signals pointed to accumulation even as other holder-behavior metrics suggested distribution into short-term strength.

Grayscale Investments filed a Form S-1 with the SEC on March 20 to launch a spot ETF tied to HYPE, proposing a Nasdaq listing under the ticker GHYP. By March 21, HYPE was near $39.68 after trading under $30 in early March, lifting its market cap to about $10.2 billion and placing it 10th on CoinMarketCap. The filing comes as other issuers have also proposed HYPE ETFs, while any approval remains pending and subject to a review window of up to 240 days.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell about 7.7% on March 20, lowering the metric to 133.79 trillion at block 941,472 and easing conditions for miners that remain online. The reset followed slower block production over the prior 2,016 blocks, with average block times around 12 minutes 36 seconds. Listed miners are also increasingly shifting capacity toward AI and high-performance computing as competition for power and data-center resources grows.

Grayscale has submitted an S-1 registration statement for a Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETF intended to list on Nasdaq under the ticker GHYP. The filing comes as HYPE moves into the crypto top 10 with a $10.1B market cap, while the token was quoted at $39.62 with an 8% weekly gain at the time of writing.

Bitcoin saw another failed upside attempt over the past week, meeting strong resistance at $75,000 before sliding back toward $70,000. Glassnode said options traders are leaning more defensive, with greater demand for downside protection alongside lower volatility expectations. Bitcoin was last noted at $70,668, up 0.33% on the day, while daily volume fell 17.30% to $36.67 billion.

As of March 21, XRP was trading near $1.44, down 0.76% over 24 hours but up 3.15% on the week, with a market cap around $88.3 billion and 24-hour volume near $1.58 billion. On-chain and positioning data diverge: transaction activity has risen toward nearly 3 million per day while whale wallets decline, and derivatives show long exposure that could amplify moves if key support fails.

On March 21, 2026, Bitcoin hovered around the $70K level after a late-February selloff tied to U.S.-Iran tensions and a subsequent rebound of more than 10% from the lows. March ETF activity stayed volatile, with a -$349 million combined outflow reported for March 6, while select inflow days favored BlackRock's IBIT. Technically, BTC retook the 50-day SMA as RSI and MACD shifted toward a more constructive setup, while $65K was highlighted by a trader as a key downside marker.