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US to return $7M to victims of ‘spoofed’ crypto investment websites

US authorities are seeking to return $7 million to victims of a social engineering scam that tricked them into sending money to fake cryptocurrency investment platforms. 

The scam involved the fraudsters contacting victims and earning trust before directing them to websites masquerading as legitimate crypto investment platforms, Virginia’s Eastern District US Attorney’s Office said in a March 21 statement.

Once victims made a deposit, the funds were funneled through over 75 bank accounts under the names of shell companies, then sent abroad “deceptively characterized” as domestic wires, despite being transferred to a bank outside the US.

US to return $7M to victims of ‘spoofed’ crypto investment websites

Source: US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia

“The sites falsely represented to the victims that their investments were making sizeable gains,” Virginia’s US Attorney’s Office added in its statement.

“When victims would attempt to make withdrawals, the perpetrators would coerce the victims to send even more money using tactics such as claiming the victims owed taxes on their purported profits.”

The United States Secret Service seized some of the stolen funds from a foreign bank in 2023 and began the civil forfeiture action by filing a claim in a US District Court.

However, the bank also made a claim against the cash, and the US authorities eventually reached a settlement agreement for $7 million of the seized funds. 

Victims of the scam have been urged to contact the Secret Service to petition to recover their losses. 

Related: Web3 businesses can outsmart crypto scams before they strike — Here’s how

In its 2025 Crypto Crime Report, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said crypto crime has entered a professionalized era dominated by efficient cyber syndicates. 

Australian federal police said on March 21 they had to alert 130 people of a message scam aimed at crypto users that spoofed the same “sender ID” as legitimate crypto exchanges such as Binance. 

Another similar string of scam messages reported by X users on March 14, spoofed Coinbase and Gemini and attempted to trick users into setting up a new wallet using pre-generated recovery phrases controlled by the fraudsters. 

Cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes sent a warning on March 18 about a syndicate using a new form of crypto-stealing malware hidden inside a “cracked” version of TradingView Premium. 

Microsoft’s Incident Response Team said on March 17 that it had discovered cyber scammers were using a new remote access trojan that targets crypto held in 20 cryptocurrency wallet extensions for the Google Chrome browser. 

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

Read more at cointelegraph.com

US to return $7M to victims of ‘spoofed’ crypto investment websites

US authorities are seeking to return $7 million to victims of a social engineering scam that tricked them into sending money to fake cryptocurrency investment platforms. 

The scam involved the fraudsters contacting victims and earning trust before directing them to websites masquerading as legitimate crypto investment platforms, Virginia’s Eastern District US Attorney’s Office said in a March 21 statement.

Once victims made a deposit, the funds were funneled through over 75 bank accounts under the names of shell companies, then sent abroad “deceptively characterized” as domestic wires, despite being transferred to a bank outside the US.

US to return $7M to victims of ‘spoofed’ crypto investment websites

Source: US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia

“The sites falsely represented to the victims that their investments were making sizeable gains,” Virginia’s US Attorney’s Office added in its statement.

“When victims would attempt to make withdrawals, the perpetrators would coerce the victims to send even more money using tactics such as claiming the victims owed taxes on their purported profits.”

The United States Secret Service seized some of the stolen funds from a foreign bank in 2023 and began the civil forfeiture action by filing a claim in a US District Court.

However, the bank also made a claim against the cash, and the US authorities eventually reached a settlement agreement for $7 million of the seized funds. 

Victims of the scam have been urged to contact the Secret Service to petition to recover their losses. 

Related: Web3 businesses can outsmart crypto scams before they strike — Here’s how

In its 2025 Crypto Crime Report, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said crypto crime has entered a professionalized era dominated by efficient cyber syndicates. 

Australian federal police said on March 21 they had to alert 130 people of a message scam aimed at crypto users that spoofed the same “sender ID” as legitimate crypto exchanges such as Binance. 

Another similar string of scam messages reported by X users on March 14, spoofed Coinbase and Gemini and attempted to trick users into setting up a new wallet using pre-generated recovery phrases controlled by the fraudsters. 

Cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes sent a warning on March 18 about a syndicate using a new form of crypto-stealing malware hidden inside a “cracked” version of TradingView Premium. 

Microsoft’s Incident Response Team said on March 17 that it had discovered cyber scammers were using a new remote access trojan (RAT) that targets crypto held in 20 cryptocurrency wallet extensions for the Google Chrome browser. 

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Fidelity files for Ethereum-based US Treasury fund ‘OnChain’

Fidelity Investments has filed to register a tokenized version of its US dollar money market fund on Ethereum — joining the likes of BlackRock and Franklin Templeton in the blockchain tokenization space.

Fidelity’s March 21 filing with the US securities regulator said “OnChain” would help track transactions of the Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX) — an $80 million fund consisting almost entirely of US Treasury bills.

While OnChain is pending regulatory approval, it is expected to take effect on May 30, Fidelity said.

Fidelity files for Ethereum-based US Treasury fund ‘OnChain’

Fidelity’s filing to register a tokenized version of the Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund. Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

The OnChain share class aims to provide investors transparency and verifiable tracking of share transactions of FYHXX, although Fidelity will maintain traditional book-entry records as the official ownership ledger.

“Although the secondary recording of the OnChain class on a blockchain will not represent the official record of ownership, the transfer agent will reconcile the secondary blockchain transactions with the official records of the OnChain class on at least a daily basis.”

Fidelity said the US Treasury bills wouldn’t be directly tokenized.

The $5.8 trillion asset manager said it may also expand OnChain to other blockchains in the future.

Related: Ethereum eyes 65% gains from ‘cycle bottom’ as BlackRock ETH stash crosses $1B

Asset managers have increasingly turned to blockchain to tokenize Treasury bills, bonds and private credit over the past few years.

The RWA tokenization market for Treasury products is currently valued at $4.78 billion, led by the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) at $1.46 billion, according to rwa.xyz.

Fidelity files for Ethereum-based US Treasury fund ‘OnChain’

Market caps of blockchain-based Treasury products. Source: rwa.xyz

Over $3.3 billion worth of RWAs are tokenized on the Ethereum network, followed by Stellar at $465.6 million.

BlackRock’s head of crypto, Robbie Mitchnick, recently said Ethereum is still the “natural default answer” for TradFi firms looking to tokenize RWAs onchain.

“There was no question that the blockchain we would start our tokenization on would be Ethereum, and that’s not just a BlackRock thing, that’s the natural default answer.”

“Clients clearly are making choices that they do value the decentralization, they do value the credibility, and the security and that’s a great advantage that Ethereum continues to have,” he said at the Digital Asset Summit in New York on March 20.

Magazine: Comeback 2025: Is Ethereum poised to catch up with Bitcoin and Solana?

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Cathie Wood to kick off El Salvador’s AI public education program

Cathie Wood, founder of the ARK Invest investment firm, will give the inaugural lecture for El Salvador’s new Urban Centers for Welfare and Opportunities (CUBO) AI program, a public education initiative spearheaded by the government of El Salvador.

According to El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, the program will bring university-level AI courses to students and professionals and follows the country’s highly successful CUBO Bitcoin (BTC) and Lightning Network developer program.

The program will leverage industry experts to provide AI education to the public. El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office wrote in a March 23 X post:

“As El Salvador turbocharges its transformation into the ultimate tech and financial powerhouse of the region, CUBO AI will arm students and professionals in the country with the tools to dominate the AI frontier.”

El Salvador continues to attract crypto businesses and foreign direct investment as the Central American country positions itself as a regional tech and digital finance hub.

Education, El Salvador

Cathie Wood, left, meets with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, center, and economist Art Laffer, right, in May 2024. Source: El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office

Related: El Salvador acquired over 13 BTC since March 1, despite IMF deal

El Salvador becoming a regional tech hub amid education and investment push

El Salvador has taken several steps to establish itself as a regional hub for innovation, including integrating Bitcoin classes into public education, leveraging geothermal energy to mine BTC, and passing pro-crypto and AI policies.

Cathie Wood met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in May 2024 to discuss the future of digital assets and AI policy in Central American countries, including potential education initiatives tailored by ARK Invest.

Wood left the meeting confident that El Salvador could increase its gross domestic product (GDP) tenfold over the next five years if it continues pursuing its tech-focused agenda.

“The President could scale El Salvador’s GDP 10-fold during his next 5-year term,” Wood wrote in a May 2024 X post that praised Bukele as forward-thinking.

In September, Bukele also met with Elon Musk to discuss artificial intelligence and other 21st-century technologies, including crypto.

Musk likewise praised Bukele as “an amazing leader,” and the two continue to build rapport that could potentially lead to collaboration between the businessman and the government of El Salvador.

Magazine: El Salvador’s national Bitcoin chief has been orange-pilling Argentina

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Bitcoin mining hashprice stays flat despite higher difficulty: Report

The Bitcoin (BTC) mining hashprice — a miner’s daily revenue per unit of hash power expended to mine blocks — has remained constant at around $48 per petahash per second (PH/s), despite a slight 1.4% uptick in Bitcoin difficulty.

Data from CoinWarz shows that the Bitcoin difficulty climbed to 113.76 trillion at block 889,081 on March 23, up from the 112.1 trillion difficulty in the previous epoch.

According to TheMinerMag, a hashprice below $50 places financial stress on miners running older hardware such as the Antminer S19 XP and S19 Pro.

The older hardware, coupled with declining network transaction fees, risks pushing some miners into unprofitable territory — forcing them to turn off their hardware until they upgrade their application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or network conditions change.

Mining firms have been struggling since the April 2024 Bitcoin halving, which slashed the block subsidy to 3.125 BTC per block mined, generally increasing network difficulty, and the recent downturn in the crypto markets due to macroeconomic uncertainty.

Mining, Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin mining difficulty. Source: CoinWarz

Related: SEC says proof-of-work mining does not constitute securities dealing

Miners have a rough start to 2025

Research from financial services firm JPMorgan shows that publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies collectively lost 22% of their share value in February 2025.

Even miners who diversified operations into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data centers to shore up revenue lost through mining activities are facing financial pressures, the JPMorgan report found.

The financial services firm pointed to the release of DeepSeek R1 — an open-source AI model trained at a fraction of the cost of leading models yet performing on par with closed-source alternatives — as a source of strain on large AI data centers.

Mining, Bitcoin Mining

Although the Bitcoin network’s hashrate oscillates in the short term, the long-term trend is up only. Source: CryptoQuant

A steadily rising network hashrate, which is the sum total computing power in the Bitcoin network, is also creating increased competition among miners, who must expend greater computing resources to remain profitable.

Fears of a prolonged trade war between the United States and Canada, alongside constant tariff headlines, have put miners on edge.

Threats from Canadian officials to levy tariffs on energy exports to the United States place even more pressure on the already struggling industry.

Magazine: Korea to lift corporate crypto ban, beware crypto mining HDs: Asia Express

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Saylor hints at impending BTC purchase after latest capital raise

Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor hinted at an impending Bitcoin (BTC) purchase after the company raised additional capital this week through its latest preferred stock offering.

The executive shared a Sunday Bitcoin chart on X, hinting at another BTC purchase the following day — when traditional financial markets reopen — alongside the playful caption, “needs more orange.”

According to SaylorTracker, the company’s most recent BTC acquisition occurred on March 17, when Strategy purchased 130 BTC, valued at $10.7 million, bringing its total holdings to 499,226 BTC.

Bitcoin Price, MicroStrategy, Bitcoin Adoption, Michael Saylor

Strategy’s total Bitcoin purchases. Source: SaylorTracker

Strategy’s March 17 BTC acquisition represents one of its smallest purchases on record and came after a two-week break in buying.

On March 21, the company announced the pricing of its latest tranche of preferred stock. The preferred stock was sold at $85 per share and featured a 10% coupon. According to Strategy, the offering should bring the company approximately $711 million in revenue.

Michael Saylor continues evangelizing for the Bitcoin network, inspiring dozens of publicly traded companies to adopt BTC as a treasury asset and petitioning the US government to buy more of the scarce digital commodity.

Bitcoin Price, MicroStrategy, Bitcoin Adoption, Michael Saylor

Strategy’s BTC acquisitions in 2025. Source: SaylorTracker

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy to raise up to $21B to purchase more Bitcoin

Saylor pushes for the US government to purchase 25% of BTC’s total supply

Saylor wrote that the US government should acquire 25% of Bitcoin’s total supply by 2035 — when 99% of the total BTC supply has been mined.

The executive also petitioned for the US government to adopt a comprehensive framework for all digital assets in a proposal titled, A Digital Assets Strategy to Dominate the 21st Century Global Economy.

Bitcoin Price, MicroStrategy, Bitcoin Adoption, Michael Saylor

Saylor giving his 21 Truths of Bitcoin speech at the Blockworks Digital Asset Summit. Source: Cointelegraph

Speaking at the recent Blockworks Digital Asset Summit, the Strategy co-founder presented his 21 Truths of Bitcoin speech. The executive told the audience:

“Gold still underperforms the S&P Index by a factor of two or more, so there is only one commodity in the history of the human race that was not a garbage investment — the one commodity is Bitcoin — a digital commodity.”

Despite the recent market downturn, Strategy is still up over 28% on its BTC investment and is sitting on over $9.3 billion in unrealized gains.

Magazine: ‘China’s MicroStrategy’ Meitu sells all its Bitcoin and Ethereum: Asia Express

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Ethereum eyes 65% gains from 'cycle bottom' as BlackRock ETH stash crosses $1B

Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), has lost half of its value in the past three months, crashing from $4,100 in December 2024 to as low as around $1,750 in March 2025. Nevertheless, it is now well-positioned for a sharp price rebound.

65% ETH price rebound in play by June

From a technical standpoint, Ether’s price is eyeing a potential breakout as it retests a long-term support zone. Historically, bounces from this multi-year support have led to explosive rallies — most notably gains of over 2,000% and 360% during past cycles.

Ethereum eyes 65% gains from 'cycle bottom' as BlackRock ETH stash crosses $1B

ETH/USD two-week price chart. Source: TradingView

As of March 23, the ETH/USD pair was hovering near $2,000, close to the given support area. A bounce from this zone can lead the price toward $3400 by June—up 65% from current prices.

This level coincides with the lower boundary of Ether’s prevailing descending channel resistance.

Ethereum eyes 65% gains from 'cycle bottom' as BlackRock ETH stash crosses $1B

Source: Ted Pillows

Conversely, a decline below the support zone could push the ETH price toward the 200-2W exponential moving average (200-2W EMA; the blue wave in the first chart) at around $1,560.

BlackRock’s crypto funds hold over $1B in ETH

Ether’s bullish outlook appears as institutional confidence in Ethereum grows stronger.

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund now holds approximately a record $1.145 billion worth of Ether, up from around $990 million a week ago, according to data from Token Terminal.

Ethereum eyes 65% gains from 'cycle bottom' as BlackRock ETH stash crosses $1B

Capital deployed across BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. Source: Token Terminal

The fund primarily focuses on tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), with Ethereum remaining the dominant base layer. While the fund diversifies across chains like Avalanche, Polygon, Aptos, Arbitrum, and Optimism, Ethereum remains its core allocation.

BlackRock’s latest addition of ETH signals rising institutional confidence in Ethereum’s role as the leading platform for real-world asset tokenization.

Related: Ethereum open interest hits new all-time high — Will ETH price follow?

Ethereum’s bullish case also coincides with a sharp uptick in whale accumulation.

The latest onchain data from Nansen shows that since March 12, 2024, addresses holding 1,000–10,000 ETH have grown their holdings by 5.65%, while the 10,000–100,000 ETH cohort has risen by 28.73%.

Ethereum eyes 65% gains from 'cycle bottom' as BlackRock ETH stash crosses $1B

Ethereum whale holdings. Source: Nansen

Though addresses holding more than 100,000 ETH remain relatively stable, this accumulation trend underscores rising conviction among large investors.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Move aside, location — crypto fuels the talent revolution

Opinion by: Nick Denisenko is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Brighty

You can’t fight it. Crypto investments and transactions are on the up. The technology is seamless in crossing borders and making international transactions convenient. Many people report this as a reason for choosing to receive payments in crypto. Using cryptocurrency to pay bills is becoming increasingly popular as digital currencies gain wider acceptance. And, with the number of digital nomads expected to exceed 60 million by 2030, the shift toward crypto has glaring consequences for businesses attracting talent in a global market. 

Crypto companies are multinational by default. Spread across the globe, they’re no stranger to paying salaries in crypto. But today, the traditional economy also leans toward crypto payments for a straightforward reason. 

Crypto promises to unlock talent from across the world. There are tricky compliance issues involved in hiring employees from abroad. By using crypto, companies will unlock the opportunity to pay — and work with — those who best fit their needs.

Foreign hires could even be cheaper and a better fit than locals. With border-crossing crypto fintech, the traditional economy will follow in the footsteps of crypto businesses, and location will no longer make up a competitive edge in hiring. 

The workforce becomes truly global

In the past, businesses tended to hire locally. Some contractors could be hired from abroad, but their scope was minimal. Although relocation was possible, the core staff was local. In some ways, this was easier — little cultural friction or language barriers — but it also cost businesses an arm and a leg.

Hiring and paying remote employees was expensive — or worse, outright tricky. In some locations, payments could be hit with commissions and sometimes even account suspension. Contemporary procedures are often no better — the regulations can be rigid and unforgiving. For example, employees from certain countries will struggle to open a bank account in USD. 

Recent: Tether USDt tops salary payments and savings in EU in 2024 — Brighty

That’s where the beauty of crypto lies. You can open up a stablecoin account in minutes, enabling you to receive your salary without problems. For example, Binance covers most local currencies, meaning that employees can also cash out on home ground. There is a strong demand for more businesses to accept crypto as a measure to grow crypto usage as a salary. People want to earn and spend this money. 

There’s been robust growth in salary payments in crypto, and it’s an emerging trend. The possibility of paying employees in crypto already is and will continue to shape businesses worldwide.

Crypto payments enhance global hiring

Crypto payments matter financially. Employers are becoming increasingly aware that specific roles can be easily outsourced, and crypto payments streamline this process. With potential savings to avoid paying for the company’s jurisdiction, the payout from crypto can be high. 

Another implication is the skills businesses are seeking. When employees are paid using crypto, it doesn’t really matter where they are from — and, with passport color brushed aside, employers are instead zeroing in on the skills of prospective hires. 

These have always been important, but are even more so now. When employers can browse internationally for talent, proving you’re a real pro in your field could be the difference between nailing that job offer and missing out. Continuous education will become the norm as the workforce sharpens its skills.

Strong communication skills will be particularly in demand. This is perfectly understandable — remote teams from across the world could have quite varied communication styles. Some could be pushovers — some, fundamental authorities. Effectively adjusting to different working approaches will become fundamentally important. Even a surge in the number of intercultural mediation and communication coaches is expected in the coming years.

Crypto will narrow the competition in finding talent by allowing recruiters to hone in on desirable skills. It will also open up the geography of the potential workforce: Employees from Latin America and Asia will collaborate more and more with Europe and the US.

That’s not to say that the changes are without drawbacks. Labor markets in the US and Europe could be hit hard. These workforces are the most expensive because of compliance and regulations. With businesses increasingly able to look abroad for talent, domestic hires could see turbulent times.

Finally, there will be changes in the professions using crypto. Currently, most tech jobs are covered by crypto payments. But soon, the tech will go beyond the realm of the deep IT sector, as designers, tech writers, marketing managers, scriptwriters, operational managers and finance officers, among others, will use the technology. Another positive sign is that crypto transactions will change the creator economy and the industry of donations. These groups will begin to further accept payments from all over the world.

The growth of technology

Crypto is expanding. The tech is at the cutting edge of convenience and speed for international payments and investments. Crucially, this expansion is being met with shifts in the workforce — recruitment, skillset and location. Businesses that pay in crypto can afford to seek talent beyond their own borders. Let’s take borders out of the question and move location aside — talent can be found everywhere.

Opinion by: Nick Denisenko is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Brighty.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Read more at cointelegraph.com

ETH may reclaim $2.2K ‘macro range’ amid growing whale accumulation

Ether needs to reclaim the “macro” range above the $2,200 mark to amass more upside momentum as crypto markets remain pressured by global macroeconomic concerns until at least the beginning of April.

Ether (ETH) price is down over 51% during its three-month downtrend after it peaked above $4,100 on Dec. 16, 2024, TradingView data shows.

ETH may reclaim $2.2K ‘macro range’ amid growing whale accumulation

ETH/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

To stage a reversal from thncoinglis downtrend, Ether price needs to reclaim the “macro range” above $2,200, wrote popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital in a March 19 X post:

“If price can generate a strong enough reaction here, then #ETH will be able to reclaim the $2,196-$3,900 Macro Range (black).”ETH may reclaim $2.2K ‘macro range’ amid growing whale accumulation

ETH/USD, monthly chart. Source: Rekt Capital

Meanwhile, Ether’s open interest surged to a new all-time high on March 21, raising investor hopes that large traders are positioning for a rally above $2,400.

Cryptocurrencies, DApps, Economy, Markets, Fees, Leverage, Futures, Market Analysis, Ether Price, Layer2, Ethereum ETF

Ether futures aggregate open interest, ETH. Source: CoinGlass

Ether remains unable to gain significant momentum despite positive crypto regulatory developments, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission dropping the lawsuit against Ripple.

Some analysts expect traditional and cryptocurrency markets to be pressured by global trade war concerns until at least the beginning of April, when countries may find a resolution to the retaliatory tariffs.

Related: Trader nets $480K with 1,500x return before BNB memecoin crashes 50%

ETH whales only ones buying: Nansen analyst

While some crypto traders often blame large investors, or whales, for market downturns, these participants are simply “playing the market in any direction,” according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

The analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show on March 21:

“The ETH whales in the 10k to 100k have actually been accumulating ETH, whereas everyone else has been dumping.”

The Crypto Debanking Crisis: #CHAINREACTION https://t.co/nD4qkkzKnB

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 21, 2025

Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension

The number of addresses with at least $100,000 worth of Ether started rising at the beginning of March, from just over 70,000 addresses on March 10 to over 75,000 on March 22, Glassnode data shows.

ETH may reclaim $2.2K ‘macro range’ amid growing whale accumulation

ETH: Number of Addresses with Balance ≥ $100k. Year-to-date chart. Source: Glassnode 

In comparison, there were over 146,000 wallets with over $100,000 in ETH balance on Dec. 8, when Ether’s price was trading above $4,000.

Despite the potential for short-term volatility, investors remain optimistic for the rest of 2025, VanEck predicted a $6,000 cycle top for Ether’s price and a $180,000 Bitcoin (BTC) price during 2025.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Bitcoin needs weekly close above $85K to avoid correction to $76K: Analysts

Bitcoin analysts are closely watching the weekly close to assess the cryptocurrency’s price trajectory for the coming week, as both traditional and crypto markets remain directionless amid a mix of global trade war fears and easing inflation concerns.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price may see more downside next week unless it manages to close the week above the $85,000 psychological mark, according to Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.

“Bitcoin’s relief rally after the FOMC meeting and lower CPI readings has analysts eyeing a weekly close above $85,000, as critical for resuming upside momentum,” Lee told Cointelegraph, adding:

“A close above this level could prevent a drop to $76,000 and signal strength, while $87,000 would provide even clearer bullish confirmation. Macro factors like steady rates and cooling inflation support risk assets, but the Sunday close will be decisive.”Bitcoin needs weekly close above $85K to avoid correction to $76K: Analysts

BTC/USD, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph

Bitcoin’s price has been lacking momentum, rising only 0.9% over the past week, Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows. A disappointing weekly close risks a revisit to the previous week’s price low of $76,600.

Related: Whale closes $516M 40x Bitcoin short, pockets $9.4M profit in 8 days

Markets should “pay attention” to long-term holder accumulation: Analyst

While Bitcoin may experience short-term downside, the relief rally after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting was a positive sign for market participants, according to Enmanuel Cardozo, market analyst at Brickken real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform.

Instead of short-term fluctuations, investors should pay attention to long-term Bitcoin holder accumulation to gauge BTC’s trend, the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Long-term holders continue to stack, as we’ve seen in on-chain data, the accumulation by these holders, quietly building since the dip is what we should be paying attention to.”

Long-term holders resumed their Bitcoin accumulation at the beginning of February, buying over $21 billion worth of Bitcoin since.

Bitcoin needs weekly close above $85K to avoid correction to $76K: Analysts

BTC: Total supply held by long-term holders, year-to-date chart. Source: Glassnode

The total Bitcoin supply held by long-term holders increased by over 250,000 BTC in less than two months, from 13.1 million BTC on Feb. 11 to over 13.3 million on March 22, Glassnode data shows.

Related: Trader nets $480K with 1,500x return before BNB memecoin crashes 50%

Bitcoin needs weekly close above $85K to avoid correction to $76K: Analysts

BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Despite a wave of positive regulatory and crypto-specific developments, global tariff fears will continue to pressure the markets until at least April 2, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

Read more at cointelegraph.com