Bitcoin rose above $74,000 briefly on March 16 before trading at $73,633.85, while Ethereum gained 6.8% to $2,236.33, Coinglass data show. Funding rates for major cryptocurrencies on leading centralized and decentralized exchanges have shifted toward neutral, signaling a change in market sentiment, BlockBeats reports. Funding rates are platform-set fees in perpetual contracts that align contract prices with spot markets through transfers between long and short traders, with 0.01% as baseline—readings above indicating bullishness and below 0.005% indicating bearishness.

Bitcoin spot ETFs posted a combined net inflow of $767 million over March 9–13, SoSoValue data show. BlackRock's IBIT led with a $601 million weekly net inflow, raising its cumulative net inflow to $63.07 billion, while Fidelity's FBTC recorded a $148 million weekly net inflow and $10.99 billion cumulatively. Grayscale's GBTC saw the largest weekly net outflow at $25.85 million, bringing cumulative net outflows to $25.93 billion. As of March 13, total net assets of Bitcoin spot ETFs stood at $91.83 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio of 6.43% and cumulative historical net inflows of $56.14 billion.

Bitcoin returned to the $74,000 area in the latest session, reclaiming this price level. The move marks BTC's return to the $74,000 zone, drawing renewed attention from market participants tracking its spot price.

Bitcoin spot ETFs registered a combined net inflow of $767 million over the last trading week, SoSoValue data cited by ChainCatcher show. BlackRock's IBIT led with a $6.01 billion weekly net inflow, bringing its cumulative historical net inflow to $63.07 billion, while Fidelity's FBTC recorded a $148 million weekly net inflow and $10.99 billion in cumulative historical net inflows. Grayscale's GBTC posted the largest weekly net outflow at $25.85 million, pushing its cumulative historical net outflow to $25.93 billion. As of the time of writing, the Bitcoin spot ETF group holds total net assets of $91.83 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio of 6.43% and cumulative historical net inflows of $56.14 billion.

ChainThink reports crypto analyst Murphy saying that as of March 16, Gamma Exposure expiring on March 20 concentrates about $180 million of Long Gamma around the $74,000 strike, a structure that typically leads market makers' hedging to dampen volatility and keep prices near that level. By the March 27 expiry, the BTC options profile shifts with Call open interest significantly above Put open interest, which Murphy interprets as large capital positioning for an advance toward $75,000. Murphy adds that after the March 20 expiry, the options setup is likely to make $75,000 the new focal area, transitioning from a volatility-suppressing regime to one that amplifies price swings while forming resistance as BTC approaches $80,000 and support on pullbacks into the $65,000–$67,000 range.

Trader and chart analyst Peter Brandt, known for predicting the 2018 Bitcoin crash, shared a Bitcoin daily chart on March 16 showing a classic "megaphone" formation originally detailed in Richard Schabacker's 1932/34 technical analysis work, BlockBeats reports. The pattern, also called a trumpet-shaped or H-shaped expansion structure from Schabacker's 1934 book "Technical Analysis and Stock Market Profits," typically signals potential price reversals or breakouts. Brandt's chart shows that after a February pullback, Bitcoin's price action formed a narrowing, upward-tilted structure resembling a curved trumpet mouth, suggesting a rapid move to a peak followed by brief consolidation. Brandt had already noted on March 10 that Bitcoin was displaying a short-term bullish setup.

Bitcoin traded around $72,800 as the token extended a relief bounce backed by ETF inflows. The move underscores ongoing ETF-related demand supporting Bitcoin's recovery at current levels.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on X that he has long suspected Bitcoin is a giant Ponzi scheme and is now hearing tales of woe that confirm his view. Industry figures pushed back, with Michael Saylor stating Bitcoin is not a Ponzi scheme because such schemes require a central operator pledging returns and paying earlier participants with funds from later ones. Saylor added that Bitcoin has no issuer, no promoter and no guaranteed return, describing it as an open, decentralized monetary network driven by code and market demand.

Boyaa Interactive disclosed in its 2025 annual earnings that its Bitcoin holdings rose by 818 BTC over the year to 4,092 BTC at an average cost of $68,211, BBX data cited by ChainCatcher show. B HODL Plc announced it completed a routine purchase of 1 BTC, bringing its total since launching its capital deployment plan on March 12 to 162.487 BTC, which it plans to use to improve treasury yields via the Lightning Network. OranjeBTC said it is the first public company to book STRC, MicroStrategy's perpetual preferred shares, on its balance sheet, adding "second-order" crypto exposure through credit instruments. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a fifth consecutive day of net inflows, with a single-day inflow of $767 million providing strong liquidity backing for these corporate treasury expansions, ChainCatcher reports.