With crypto market tension rising due to US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy, all eyes are on the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on March 19. Experts believe Fed Chair Jerome Powell will keep rates at 4.25%-4.50%, which could push Bitcoin past $88,000!
Market Awaits FOMC Decision
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on March 18-19 is adding to the market’s tension. With the interest rate decision set for March 19, traders are bracing for potential volatility.
However, all focus is on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, as his words could push Bitcoin higher or slow it down. Many crypto investors are hoping for hints of rate cuts, which could boost Bitcoin past $83k.
Market analyst Obez said, “If Powell hints at easing policies, Bitcoin could break past $83,000.” A positive outlook could bring more money into crypto.
Thus, inflation is still at 2.8%, above the Fed’s 2% goal, and strong job growth suggests no urgent need for stimulus. This could limit Bitcoin’s gains in the short term.
Key Bitcoin Levels to Watch
Bitcoin must turn the $85k resistance level into support to aim for higher levels, possibly reaching $88K. This requires BTC to reclaim its position above the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA), which it lost on March 9 for the first time since August 2024.
Meanwhile, the bearish scenario suggests a drop below $78,000, with a potential retest of support at $74,000. Further declines could push BTC toward the $70,000-$66,000 range.
Analysts like SuperBitcoinBro and Nebraskangooner warn that Bitcoin could revisit $71,300 to $73,800 before making its next big move.
ETF Demand Brings Hope
A bright spot for Bitcoin bulls is the increasing demand from spot Bitcoin ETFs. On March 17, ETFs recorded $274 million in inflows—the highest since February 4. This could provide the momentum needed for Bitcoin to break above its current resistance and target new highs in the coming weeks.
Welcome to the US Morning Crypto News Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee to see what experts think about the Ripple price given the growing approval odds for XRP ETF (exchange-traded funds) in the US. These financial instruments offer investors indirect exposure to crypto and progressively draw institutional players to the digital assets space.
Meanwhile, ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has appealed to Paul Atkins for hints about when the US SEC will approve the first spot XRP ETF, among other altcoin-based financial instruments.
He and his colleague, ETF analyst James Seyffart, remain optimistic that approving additional altcoin-related ETFs beyond Ethereum is only a matter of time.
“Would love to hear directly from Atkins, but all good chance of happening,” Balchunas posed.
Specifically, for them, XRP ETF holds an 85% chance of approval, placing it among the frontrunners for regulatory approval in 2025. Balchunas also shared a list outlining the approval probabilities for various spot crypto ETFs.
Bloomberg XRP ETF approval odds in 2025. Source: Balchunas on X
Meanwhile, Seyffart notes that delays in approval should not come as a surprise. He urges crypto market participants to hold out hope beyond October 2025 and year-end in the worst-case scenario.
“…Final deadlines for most of this stuff is in October 2025 or later,” Seyffart stated.
However, Balchunas acknowledges that Paul Atkins’s confirmation as the new SEC chair has set the ball rolling.
“…nothing was going to get approved until Atkins was confirmed…he just got confirmed and they’ve been taking outside meetings with people. Probably coming up with a strategy. After that, likely approvals,” Balchunas opined.
Crypto traders and investors would surely welcome more altcoin-based exchange-traded funds beyond the Ethereum ETF. Such financial instruments would give crypto more legitimacy, open the playing field for institutional participation, and, hence, increase liquidity.
A recent US Crypto News publication indicated growing adoption for BTC over gold, ascribing the traction to Bitcoin ETF inflows surging against lagging gold ETPs (exchange-traded products).
Despite the false claims, the approval of ProShares’ XRP futures ETF sparked optimism. Experts now predict that a spot XRP ETF could follow, potentially attracting $100 billion to the payments token.
“A spot XRP ETF could be next, unlocking real demand and sending prices soaring. $100 billion+ could soon flood into XRP,” wrote industry expert Armando Pantoja.
Arkham Intelligence detected a massive Bitcoin transaction from Nucleus Marketplace, a dark web drug market that has been totally inactive for nine years. Nucleus moved $77.5 million to three wallets, leaving $365 million behind.
So-called “ancient” Bitcoin whales pop up in the space periodically, but an extant darknet vendor is still quite rare. Nucleus’ assets have appreciated in value astronomically, but it will be very difficult to convert this BTC into fiat currency.
Dark Web Bitcoin Whale Wakes Up
If there’s one constant in the crypto space and finance more broadly, it’s that money never sleeps. Earlier today, on-chain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence discovered rapid action from a long-dormant source.
Nucleus Marketplace, a darknet market with zero activity in the last nine years, woke up to move over $77.5 million worth of Bitcoin.
“Nucleus Marketplace was a darknet drug market, and it was believed that the founder had either been apprehended by law enforcement or had exit-scammed when the market went offline in 2016. The BTC held in their wallets has not been moved until today,” Arkham claimed.
This defunct darknet market didn’t immediately move all its Bitcoin, and Nucleus still retains about $365 million in BTC. The price of Bitcoin has shot up astronomically since the company’s heyday; at no point in 2016 did BTC cross the $1,000 price point.
Whoever controls this wallet is acting somewhat conservatively, moving these assets into three separate wallets.
Darknet market transactions are somewhat less common, although a few remain at large despite major legal crackdowns.
As novel as this darknet wallet may be in 2025, it doesn’t seem too likely to have much of an impact on Bitcoin. At the moment, it’s impossible to tell who is controlling Nucleus’ wallet, be it an original operator, associate, or hacker.
Regardless of who controls the wallet, it would be very difficult for anyone to convert this BTC into fiat without notice. These wallets are constantly monitored, and any suspicious activity could trigger community actions.
