A total of 22,000 Bitcoin options contracts will expire today with overall market activity remaining subdued as BTC price oscillates in a tight range between $82,000-$84,000. Amid tightening volatilities, traders have been ramping up selling activity recently. Analysts are predicting a BTC move either to $44,000 or to $112,000 based on macro conditions and other factors. another positive indicator is that Bitcoin ETF inflows have resumed once again with BlackRock’s IBIT leading the show.
22,000 Bitcoin Options to Expire Amid Flat Market Conditions
A total of 22,000 Bitcoin (BTC) options, with a Put/Call ratio of 0.84, are set to expire, carrying a notional value of $1.83 billion and a max pain point of $85,000, as per the data from Deribit.
Source: Deribit
Over the last week, the crypto market saw subdued market activity with the total number of option deliveries dropping by nearly 50%. Furthermore, short-term implied volatility (IV) saw a sharp decline, falling below 50% across the board for BTC, ahead of today’s Bitcoin options expiry.
Data shows that institutional options market makers are ramping up selling activity while tightening implied volatilities. This signals the expectations of a short-term sideways movement for Bitcoin ahead.
Where’s BTC Price Heading Next?
BTC price has struggled to break past the $84,000 resistance despite the recent initial thrust after the FOMC meeting. This shows that bulls have not mustered enough strength for a rally ahead. As the impact of the Trump tariff war on the US equity market intensifies, President Donald Trump has asked the US Federal Reserve to announce rate cuts soon.
Crypto market veterans like Arthur Hayes expect the Fed rate cuts to come by April which could push the Bitcoin price even higher. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez has outlined pivotal support and resistance levels for Bitcoin (BTC) using pricing bands. He noted:
A break and hold above $94,000 could propel Bitcoin toward a surge to $112,000.
Conversely, a drop below $76,000 would place the next critical support levels at $58,000 and $44,000.
Source: Ali Martinez
BTC’s daily trading volume has dropped by 31% to $25 billion ahead of today’s Bitcoin options expiry. It will be interesting to see whether BTC resumes the uptrend in the near time.
Bitcoin ETF Inflows Resume Again
US Bitcoin ETFs have recorded five consecutive sessions of inflows. On Thursday, March 20, Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $166 million, signaling growing investor interest in the market. BlackRock’s IBIT led the surge, achieving the highest single-day net inflow among Bitcoin spot ETFs at $172 million, as per data from Farside Investors.
Since US President Donald Trump assumed office, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped, settled, or paused lawsuits against prominent crypto entities left and right. In stark contrast to the previous administration’s leadership under Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC seems to be parting from its previous crackdown on digital assets.
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Nick Puckrin, Founder of The Coin Bureau, and Hank Huang, Chief Executive Officer at Kronos Research, highlighted the substantial election influence the crypto industry had over Trump’s candidacy as a contributing factor to the SEC’s looser stance on crypto.
The SEC’s Approach Under Trump
The SEC has experienced a clear shift in its approach to crypto lawsuits under Trump’s presidency. Its move away from the aggressive enforcement tactics of its previous leadership has largely characterized this shift.
“When President Donald Trump won the US election, the crypto industry rejoiced. Finally, the ‘regulation by enforcement’ era, which the SEC under the leadership of Gary Gensler was so famous for, was about to come to an end. And the new administration didn’t disappoint. Within just a couple of weeks of Trump’s inauguration, the revamped SEC started dropping lawsuits against crypto firms left, right and center,” Puckrin said.
Two weeks ago, the SEC officially dropped its appeal and XRP lawsuit against Ripple Labs, ending a five-year legal battle. The Commission had originally accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering worth $1.3 billion through XRP sales.
“After more than four years in limbo, the SEC has officially decided that XRP is not a security (though what it is instead remains to be seen). This case has been weighing heavily on XRP – the fourth largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of roughly $130 billion– so its resolution is a major win,” Puckrin added.
The wider crypto community celebrated the outcome, with many arguing that it will set a precedent for how digital assets are classified in the US. This prediction is warranted, given that the SEC has been on a lawsuit-dropping spree.
The SEC has also dropped several ongoing investigations against OpenSea, Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, Kraken, and Gemini. It has also asked a federal court to issue a 60-day pause over its litigation against Binance. Meanwhile, the Commission settled its investigation into ConsenSys over its Ethereum software products.
These lawsuits surfaced in parallel to a series of crypto-friendly measures meant to foster greater innovation and curb potential regulatory suffocation that had existed during the Biden era.
Will New Leadership Define Clear Crypto Regulations?
A day after Trump assumed office, SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda announced the creation of a dedicated crypto task force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The task force was reportedly designed to resolve long-standing ambiguities in the regulatory treatment of digital assets.
In all SEC crypto lawsuits, Commissioner Uyeda has implemented a strategy prioritizing industry engagement to develop regulatory frameworks that balance innovation and investor protection.
Meanwhile, Trump strategically nominated Paul Atkins, a crypto-curious, regulation-light candidate, to replace Gensler as head of the SEC. Just this week, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Atkins’ nomination to the full Senate.
Now, only a stone’s throw away from becoming SEC Chair, Atkins is expected to loosen regulatory oversight on crypto.
“With the establishment of a new Task Force and key appointees like Paul Atkins fostering innovation, Trump’s strategic move to create a Bitcoin reserve within the government further underscores his commitment to supporting the industry. The future of crypto regulations will be focused on less oversight and the beginning of a delicate but promising thaw in the regulatory landscape,” Huang added.
Though some say Trump’s handling of crypto affairs has resulted in a never-before-seen triumph, others are weary that his increasing involvement in the industry has turned out to be a recipe for disaster.
The Impact of Crypto Donations on Regulations
Several industry leaders went to great lengths to ensure that Trump became America’s 47th president. Millions of dollars in donations from crypto firms throughout Trump’s campaign illustrated these efforts.
According to a Public Citizen report, over $119 million from crypto corporations went into influencing the 2024 federal elections, largely through Fairshake, a non-partisan super PAC backing pro-crypto candidates and opposing skeptics.
Crypto corporations donated over $119 million to the 2024 federal elections. Source: Public Citizen
Coinbase and Ripple, among others who stand to profit, directly provided over half of Fairshake’s funding. The remaining funds mostly came from billionaire crypto executives and venture capitalists. Notable contributions included $44 million from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from the Winklevoss twins, and $1 million from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
So far, big crypto’s spending strategy is paying off with a more favorable environment.
Without a clear framework to guide the crypto industry following these dropped lawsuits, this lax approach risks being short-lived. Ultimately, this could tarnish long-term crypto adoption.
“Somehow, all these victories feel somewhat hollow after the reputation of the crypto industry has been tarnished by the billions of dollars in combined losses from meme coin scams. Meanwhile, Hayden Davis, the mastermind behind LIBRA, continues to launch fraudulent meme tokens, despite being on the Interpol wanted list,” he said.
A 2024 report by Web3 intelligence platform Merkle Science revealed that meme coin rug pulls cost investors over $500 million. The February LIBRA incident showed how this trend was carried over to 2025. Nansen data revealed that 86% of investors lost $251 million, while insiders pocketed $180 million in profits.
Though crypto scammers may be charged with related crimes like wire fraud or money laundering, rug pulling is legal. Better said, it’s unaccounted for. No regulation holds crypto insiders responsible for meme coin scams.
“As crypto becomes an ever more mainstream asset class, consumers need to be protected against those who choose to use it for nefarious purposes. One way to do this is through education, and that’s our job as an industry. But deterring scams and extractive behavior is the job of the regulators. And it’s time they stepped up to the task,” Puckrin told BeInCrypto.
If the SEC doesn’t take advantage of this opportunity to curb the consequences that meme coin scams can produce, it will result in an enormous setback for the industry.
Comprehensive Regulation Beyond Dropped Lawsuits
Puckrin illustrated the need for heightened regulatory clarity in crypto by drawing attention to the way the SEC penalizes insider trading in the context of traditional investing.
“In traditional investing, insider trading is a serious crime. In the US, it’s punishable by fines of up to $5 million for individuals and prison sentences up to 20 years. Similarly, federal penalties for engaging with illegal gambling activities include up to five years in prison. Perpetrators of memecoin scams must be punished with the same level of severity, because the result is the same: manipulating markets and cheating unsuspecting investors out of their savings,” he said.
Puckrin clarified, however, that the issue isn’t solely about penalizing fraudsters. Just as the SEC’s past overregulation hindered the industry, the current lack of meme coin rules creates an environment where new scams and exploitative schemes can easily flourish.
“Yes, the removal of lawsuits is great news for blockchain innovation, but something needs to replace it. Indeed, serious cryptocurrency firms have never advocated for an unregulated Wild West. What they want is clarity and rules that are fit for the nascent blockchain industry – not just a copy-and-paste of existing financial regulations that simply don’t work for crypto,” he said.
Although the Trump administration has only been in place for four months, the clock is ticking, and meaningful change takes time.
Unanswered Questions Loom
Puckrin expressed concern over the current administration’s prioritization of lawsuit dismissals instead of working faster to implement transcendental crypto regulation.
“My concern is that regulators will keep kicking the can down the road with crypto regulation, having gained the approval of the industry for dropping the many lawsuits that were stifling its growth. And this is incredibly dangerous,” he told BeInCrypto.
Meanwhile, critical questions that only the SEC can define remain unanswered.
“What are memecoins and who will ensure another LIBRA fiasco doesn’t happen? Are utility altcoins now commodities and if so, will the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulate them? And, importantly, what do we do about compensating investors who have lost billions to crypto fraud?” Puckrin concluded.
The SEC’s current direction promises a regulated renaissance or a breeding ground for future crises.
With billions lost and critical questions unanswered, the future of crypto hinges on whether the regulatory body will translate its recent shift into a lasting framework that fosters innovation without sacrificing investor protection.
According to Bo Hines, the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, the Trump administration could consider using tariff revenues to build a national Bitcoin reserve.
It marks a notable shift, given recent indications that revenue generated from gold sales would help fund the Bitcoin reserve.
Trump Tariff Revenues To Fund US Bitcoin Reserve
Bo Hines explained the possibility during recent interviews. He cited the need for the US to act swiftly amid global competition for Bitcoin accumulation.
Speaking to Thinking Crypto on Tuesday, Hines emphasized that the US must compete globally in Bitcoin. He highlighted the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) through budget-neutral means. This, he said, includes novel funding mechanisms such as tariff revenues.
“SBR recognizes the value of what Bitcoin is and how it can be harnessed for the American people. There is a finite number of Bitcoin and I think there will end up being a race to accumulate,” Hines stated.
He reiterated this in an interview with Anthony Pompliano, the founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management. Bo Hines discussed the re-evaluation of tariffs, Bitcoin, and gold during the discussion. He labeled them as key components of the administration’s macroeconomic strategy.
“The strategic reserve is just the beginning. We’re thinking long-term about what assets can empower the American people and insulate us from global shocks,” Hines told Pompliano.
This plan is different from whatRepublican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming proposed. BeInCrypto reported that she introduced legislation to increase the government’s Bitcoin holdings by selling a portion of the Federal Reserve’s gold.
“We will convert excess reserves at our 12 Federal Reserve banks into bitcoin over five years. We have the money now,” said Senator Lummis back in July at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference.
The notion of using tariff revenue to buy Bitcoin is novel. However, such a move could redefine the role of digital assets in the US economic strategy. It reflects a broader ideological pivot, treating digital assets as more than speculative instruments but as national economic tools.
Crypto advocates responded enthusiastically. Influencer Crypto Rover called the tariff-based Bitcoin acquisition plan “mega bullish,” reflecting wider market sentiment.
Meanwhile, others warn that Trump’s aggressive tariff stance could undermine US Bitcoin mining dominance. Hardware costs and international trade barriers could harm domestic miners, especially if Chinese-made mining equipment is further taxed or restricted.
Despite these complexities, the administration appears undeterred. Hines also hinted at integrating stablecoin legislation and blockchain technology within banking infrastructure. He said this would bolster law enforcement capabilities in crypto and signal a multi-pronged strategy.
As inflation pressures mount and trade tensions with China escalate, speculation is that a more crypto-friendly Fed chair could align monetary policy with the administration’s digital asset goals.
With geopolitical tensions rising and central banks racing to define their digital currency strategies, the US appears to be moving toward a more assertive position.
