Trading

Bitcoin fell to $68.2k on Sunday, March 22, triggering $111.4 million in long liquidations over 24 hours. Separately, projections suggest a 2% BTC allocation by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, which oversees $8 trillion in AUM, could make its spot Bitcoin ETF larger than BlackRock's IBIT. Meanwhile, the network hash rate dropped 10.2%, and traders outlined a rebound case toward $78.4k while warning a break below $65.6k could negate it.

On 22 March 2026, social and search activity highlighted Quant (QNT), Bittensor (TAO), Litecoin (LTC) and Solana (SOL) as the week's most-discussed altcoins. QNT traded at $76.19 (+13.78% weekly) after Robinhood enabled spot trading, while TAO hovered around $278-$281 after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang mentioned Bittensor. LTC sat near multi-year lows at $54.73, and SOL traded at $88.20 amid weakening momentum and renewed debate tied to comments from Solana Foundation president Lily Liu.

Bitcoin fell nearly $2,000 in under 30 minutes on Sunday after President Donald Trump warned he could strike Iran's power infrastructure unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened within 48 hours. BTC dropped to $69,141 (down 2.26%), while the total crypto market cap slipped 1.95% to $2.38T and derivatives liquidations hit $232M amid a sharp risk-off move.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of venture firm SkiBridge, said Polkadot is "quietly rebuilding momentum", citing a recent SEC classification of DOT as a digital commodity and a tokenomics overhaul that caps supply at 2.1 billion. He also pointed to the 21Shares Spot DOT ETF, which has recorded just one inflow day of $544.5K since launch while the rest of March showed zero flows. Separately, Polkadot's usage has weakened, with weekly average active addresses falling from 16K to 5K over the past two years.

CFTC staff issued a Friday notice answering FAQs on the agency's crypto-collateral pilot launched last year, outlining how futures commission merchants should begin accepting crypto margin. The guidance says participating firms must notify the Market Participants Division of their start date and, for the first three months, may take only Bitcoin, Ether, or stablecoins, with weekly reporting of total crypto held. It also sets capital charges at 20% for BTC and ETH positions and 2% for stablecoins, while limiting certain stablecoin uses and excluding crypto from uncleared swap collateral.

River (RIVER) climbed 25% over 24 hours and gained 11% on the week, alongside a 42% surge in open interest. Despite the derivatives-led interest, spot CVD suggested limited spot demand while funding stayed negative, pointing to active shorts. Technical signals improved on the daily chart, but analysts flagged potential pullbacks toward $18 or even $15.

Strategy CEO Phong Le said Morgan Stanley's planned spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) could attract outsized demand from the bank's wealth unit, citing a $160 billion estimate based on a 2% allocation model. He contrasted that figure with BlackRock's IBIT, which has $55 billion in AUM and $63 billion in cumulative net inflows. Morgan Stanley executives also argued crypto ETF adoption remains early and is still led by self-directed clients rather than advisor-managed accounts.

Bitcoin hovered near $70,000 in Friday trading after failing to hold $75,000 on Tuesday, alongside two days of $254 million net outflows from US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs. Even so, options data showed heavier hedging, with put premium demand about 2.5x calls and a 30-day delta skew at 16%. Traders also pointed to weaker macro conditions and elevated oil prices as factors keeping risk appetite muted.

In a March 2026 interview segment, Grayscale Head of Product and Research Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary described the "on-chain economy" and suggested a potential Ripple-linked ETF could expand institutional exposure beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. The article says Ripple-based ETFs have attracted $1.21 billion across five products, while 21Shares is the only issuer showing nearly $24 million in outflows since launch.

Bitcoin is hovering around the $70k area as profit-taking and thin demand weigh on upside, with ETFs posting over $300 million in outflows across the past three days. A wallet dormant for 13 years moved 0.00079 BTC, drawing attention to a position that began with 2,100 BTC received when BTC traded at $6.59 and is now up about $148 million, roughly a 10,710× return. With about 41% of supply in loss, the market is watching whether a break below key levels could worsen liquidation risks.