Bitcoin BTC$70,249.13 nursed fresh losses on Thursday after bearing the brunt of soaring energy prices, with Brent crude oil rising to $114 and Oman crude pushing up to $150.

European natural gas futures followed suit, surging about 25% to above $78 per MWh on Thursday as Iran attacked key Gulf energy infrastructure after an Israeli strike on its South Pars gas field.

Bitcoin traded near $70,000 having lost 1.6% since midnight UTC while ether (ETH) dropped 1.7% to $2,160.

The Federal Reserve also had an impact after it left rates unchanged in the 3.50%–3.75% range on Wednesday, pausing a rate-cutting cycle to boost the U.S. dollar.

Risk assets tumbled across the board as a result, with Nasdaq 100 futures down by around 0.3% since midnight UTC.

Derivatives positioning

• Nearly $600 million in leveraged crypto futures bets have been liquidated by crypto platforms in 24 hours, with longs, or bullish plays, accounting for most of the tally. The overnight price drop clearly caught bulls off guard.
• Industry-wide, futures open interest (OI) has declined by 5.6% to $106.90.
• Ether futures OI dropped 9% as the token’s spot price fell 6%. This combination represents capital outflows.
• Futures tied to tether gold (XAUT) and privacy-focused ZEC saw double-digit declines, indicating investor risk aversion.
• Bearish short plays are in demand again, as evidenced by negative funding rates for BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL and other tokens. The 24-hour cumulative volume delta for most of these coins is negative, underlining the position.
• Fear has crept back into the market. Volmex’s BVIV, which measures the 30-day implied, or expected, price turbulence in bitcoin, has jumped over 5% to 58.36%, ending a week-long decline. The same is true for ether.
• On Deribit, bitcoin and ether put skews have strengthened, again indicating heightened downside concerns.
• Block flows featured an outsized demand for ether straddles, a volatility strategy. In BTC’s case, traders chased risk reversals and put spreads.

Token talk

• Several altcoins were dealt deep moves to the downside on Thursday, notably bittensor (TAO) and hyperliquid (HYPE), which lost 8.8% and 6.5%, respectively, since midnight.
• The move in the altcoin market can be attributed to a lack of liquidity in a market that remains fractured following a $19 billion leverage wipeout in October.
• A select few tokens showed strength despite the broader market pullback. NEO rose by 4.2% and restaking token ETHFI continued its strong start to the year, adding 1.5% to $0.55.
• The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) is in the red after losing around 1% since midnight, while the DeFi Select Index (DFX) and CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) are down by 1.4% and 2%, respectively.

Banking giant Morgan Stanley has submitted an amended Bitcoin ETF filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to the updated S-1 filing on Wednesday, the firm has confirmed the ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca. Further, the filing notes that the trust will acquire initial Bitcoin by issuing 50,000 shares, expected to generate around $1 million in proceeds.

Other than that, the filing did not disclose key information about the management fee or expense ratio.

Morgan Stanley has finalized Coinbase Custody and BNY Mellon as it moves forward with custody arrangements, while BNY Mellon will also serve as the cash custodian for the trust.

The trust will operate as a passive investment vehicle and does not provide direct exposure to Bitcoin ownership.

With the preliminary regulatory hurdles done, the product is expected to go live once the registration statement becomes effective and final SEC approval is granted.

Morgan Stanley filed for its spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this year alongside separate filings for other crypto assets, namely Ethereum and Solana.

The decision to launch this product and step into the spot crypto market comes as spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. have witnessed record-breaking institutional inflows and have even surpassed the growth trajectory of Gold ETFs during their initial launch period.

Besides offering ETF products, the bank is also eyeing other Bitcoin-related product offerings, such as yield and lending services.

During a recent appearance at the Bitcoin for Corporations conference, digital assets strategy head Amy Oldenburg said it was a “natural part of the roadmap to continue to explore.”

The bank has also confirmed plans to offer retail trading for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana through its E*Trade app.

There are several double-digit movers from the altcoin space, including HASH and RIVER, both of which have skyrocketed by over 12% daily.

Bitcoin’s price rejection at $76,000 a couple of days ago only accelerated yesterday and earlier today, with the asset dipping below $70,000 for the first time since last Thursday.

The altcoins have faced enhanced volatility as well, with ETH dropping below $2,200 and XRP slipping beneath $1.50. ZEC, WLD, and MNT have plummeted by double digits.

BTC Price Dips Below $70K

The primary cryptocurrency touched $74,000 last Friday when it was stopped and pushed south toward $70,000 during the weekend after the latest bombings in the Middle East. However, it maintained that level, and the bulls stepped up as the new business week began.

The culmination took place on Tuesday morning when bitcoin shot up to its highest price level in roughly six weeks at $76,000. Nevertheless, its progress was quickly halted, and the asset retraced to $74,000.

Although it remained there at first on Wednesday, more volatility ensued in the hours leading up to the highly anticipated second FOMC meeting of the year. BTC dropped by several grand to just under $71,000 when the Fed announced what many expected that it wouldn’t change the interest rates.

Bitcoin bounced to $72,000 at first, but nosedived once again on Thursday morning, dropping below $70,000 for the first time in a week. Despite rebounding to just over that level now, it’s still 5% down on the day. Its market cap has dropped to $1.410 trillion, and its dominance over the alts is down to 56.3% on CG.

Altcoins Bleed

Most larger-cap alts have followed BTC on the way south. Ethereum is down by over 6% daily and sits well below $2,200. XRP lost the $1.50 support after a 3.5% decline. BNB has dipped beneath $650, SOL is down to $90, while ADA, LINK, and XMR have posted even more significant losses.

The biggest daily declines are evident from ZEC (-14%), WLD (-13%), MNT (-11%), and TAO (-10%). In contrast, HASH and RIVER have surged by double digits to $0.144 and $26.6, respectively.

The total crypto market cap, though, has erased $100 billion since yesterday’s peak and is down to $2.5 trillion on CG.

As seen on the XAG/USD chart, the price of silver fell to the $70 level and briefly pierced it, marking the lowest level since early February.

Although geopolitical tensions typically support demand for safe-haven assets, silver is under pressure from expectations of a fresh inflationary surge driven by rising energy prices (as noted earlier, Brent crude has risen above $110).

Yesterday’s “hawkish” comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also played a role. The Fed maintained interest rates, signalling that any future cuts would only occur if inflation stabilises.

Technical Analysis of XAG/USD

On 4 March, analysing the XAG/USD chart, we:
→ drew a blue ascending channel;
→ suggested that price action around the channel’s median could provide key signals.

Over time, the median proved to be a strong resistance. By 10 March, point C had formed, after which:
→ on 13 March, the blue channel was breached;
→ on 17 March, price showed an intraday bearish reversal from the breakout level.

Trading volume analysis indicates that the market remains under considerable pressure.

Although the long lower shadow on the candle near the psychological $70 mark indicates some buyer activity, the overall picture remains bearish. A red descending channel can be drawn on the silver price chart, with its median potentially acting as resistance in the near term, thereby confirming the validity of the constructed channel.

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This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Evernorth said its $1 billion proceeds will support building what it expects to be Nasdaq’s largest publicly traded XRP treasury firm.

Nevada-based Evernorth has formally submitted a Form S-4 registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission tied to its planned merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II.

The latest move advances a deal that would take the XRP-focused treasury firm public on Nasdaq.

Evernorth’s SPAC Deal

The filing introduces Evernorth as a regulated corporate vehicle structured to give public market investors exposure to XRP through an actively managed treasury strategy. The disclosure provides the first look at the firm’s operational blueprint, including how it intends to allocate, manage, and report its XRP holdings within a public company framework.

The company said it has secured more than $1 billion in gross proceeds from a group of institutional backers, among them Ripple Labs, SBI Holdings, Pantera Capital, Kraken, and Arrington Capital, the sponsor behind Armada II. The proceeds will be used to support the creation of what it expects to be the largest public XRP treasury company on Nasdaq. The registration statement, which includes a preliminary proxy statement and prospectus, remains under SEC review and has not yet been declared effective.

Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Armada II shareholders and other standard closing requirements. Upon closing, the combined entity is expected to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker “XPRN,” pending exchange approval.

Commenting on the development, Michael Arrington, founder of Arrington Capital, said,

“Evernorth continues to emerge as a key gateway for capital markets, underscoring XRP’s rising influence in bridging traditional finance and real-time innovation. This continued progress by Evernorth reflects a wider wave of achievement and momentum of the XRP ecosystem as it expands utility across global finance.”

Evernorth’s announcement comes just days after the SEC issued new guidance, where XRP was included in a group of assets treated as digital commodities. According to the agency, securities regulations typically extend only to tokenized securities, excluding most other digital assets from such legal classification and regulatory scope.

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Price Struggle

On the price side of things, $1.50 remains a major hurdle for XRP. The crypto asset surged past this level at the beginning of the week but failed to sustain the momentum. After shedding almost 4% over the past 24 hours, it was trading near $1.46.

Experts say the CLARITY Act could be a major catalyst for XRP. According to EGRAG CRYPTO, the bill may determine whether the token breaks above the $1.65-$1.70 resistance range. The analyst found that the token is forming an ascending triangle, a pattern which is often linked to breakouts, and sees a 65% chance of an upward move. However, a delay in the legislation could lead to a rejection or false breakout.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is seeking industry experts to contribute to workstreams focused on how the digital euro central bank digital currency would function across ATMs, payment terminals and acceptance infrastructure. 

In an announcement published Wednesday, the ECB opened applications for two workstreams under its Rulebook Development Group (RDG), covering implementation specifications for ATM and terminal providers, as well as certification and approval frameworks for payment solutions. 

The initiative revolves around defining how a potential digital euro would integrate with existing payment systems and hardware, including support for offline transactions and interoperability with standards used across Europe. 

The move signals a deeper shift from policy design toward implementation planning, with the ECB seeking input on how a digital euro would work across ATMs, payment terminals and related infrastructure, including offline use and existing technical standards.

Related: ECB reveals Appia roadmap for central bank money in Europe’s tokenized markets

Workstreams target ATM integration, certification frameworks

According to the ECB, one workstream will focus on developing implementation specifications for ATM and terminal providers. This includes communication technologies, offline functionality and the reuse of existing payment standards. 

The second workstream will develop proposals for testing, certification and approval processes for payment solutions and infrastructure used by payment service providers within the digital euro ecosystem. 

Related: Stablecoins could weaken bank lending and monetary policy in Europe: ECB

The workstreams will report to the RDG, which includes representatives from merchants, payment service providers and consumers. 

The ECB said selected experts are expected to provide technical input to support the development of a standardized rulebook.

ECB targets 2027 digital euro pilot

The ECB previously outlined plans to start selecting European Union-licensed payment service providers (PSPs) ahead of a 12-month digital euro pilot expected to start in the second half of 2027. 

On Feb. 18, ECB Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone said the pilot would involve a limited number of merchants, Eurosystem staff and PSPs. 

While the developments point toward continued progress on a digital euro, the ECB said a final decision on whether to issue it will only be taken after the relevant legislation is adopted.