CryptoPotato

Negative Retail Sentiments Coincide with Increased Bitcoin Accumulation in Both Large and Small Wallets

Bitcoin recently suffered a nearly 4% decline, triggering bearish sentiments among retail traders towards the cryptocurrency. Despite this, blockchain analytics firm Santiment highlighted continued accumulation from different cohorts. The firm noted increased usage of terms like "dip," "crash," and "bloodbath" in crypto discourse, indicating rising fear, uncertainty, and doubt. However, these periods of negative retail chatter often align with favorable entry points. Alongside this sentiment shift, larger market participants continue to accumulate Bitcoin. Wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC added 61,568 BTC in the past month, and smaller wallets holding less than 0.01 BTC kept pace. Despite some analysts warning of potential downside risks and market fragility, this unusual overlap indicates simultaneous accumulation among both large and small BTC holders.

Rise in XRP Derivatives on Binance Amid Increasing Long Liquidations: The Future Outlook for Ripple
Summary: Open interest in XRP derivatives on Binance has risen by 14.8%, the highest since March 4. However, this has been accompanied by repeated long liquidations and a shift towards short positioning. Over $7 million was lost in three significant long liquidation events on March 18, 21, and 26. Analyst Amr Taha suggested this shows unstable conviction. Furthermore, Binance’s Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) fell as open interest rose, indicating new short positions were being created. XRP is currently trading at $1.36, down 2% in 24 hours, 7% over a week, and 42% year-on-year. The future looks uncertain, with some predicting a fall to $0.87 and others a rise to $27 by August 2027.

Bitcoin Plummets to $66K and Ethereum Drops Under $2K Amid Ongoing Middle Eastern Conflict: A Weekly Overview

Last week saw significant developments on the Iran - Israel/US front that impacted the volatile cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin fell from a high of $76,000 to around $66,000, influenced by various factors including the US Fed's decision not to adjust interest rates, ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran, and the Royal Government of Bhutan's transfer of Bitcoin, likely for sale. Other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, XRP, and SOL also experienced significant declines. Despite this, a few digital assets, led by TAO and WLFI, showed gains. Major headlines included Better Home & Finance partnering with Coinbase to allow BTC and USDC for mortgages, NYSE's parent company investing $600 million in Polymarket, and predictions Bitcoin could fall to $46,000 due to 'electric cost' fluctuations.

Pioneers Dissatisfied Despite Pi Network's Major Post-Pi Day Revelations

Two weeks after the much-anticipated Pi Day, the Pi Network Core Team's announcement of significant updates and progress on key infrastructure developments has left many community members disappointed. Notably, the team reported the start of second migrations, a process that allows pioneers who have already migrated their Pi balance once to migrate a second batch of transferable tokens. This includes referral mining bonuses for Referal Team members who have passed KYC. Despite almost 120,000 Pioneers completing their second migrations since the process began, many in the community were critical of the team’s lack of progress. Some users reported unresolved issues with the migration process, and others expressed skepticism about the project.

Intercontinental Exchange Pumps an Additional $600 Million into Polymarket Amid Rising Prediction Market Volume

The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, has invested a further $600 million into Polymarket, a leading player in the crypto-based prediction markets. This comes in the wake of Polymarket's rival, Kalshi, securing a $1 billion investment, taking its company valuation to $22 billion. To date, ICE's total investment in Polymarket amounts to around $2 billion, its first pre-money investment having been made in October 2025. This substantial investment not only offers operational capital to the company but also legitimizes prediction markets as a viable source of crowd-sourced event probabilities that institutional users could potentially utilize far beyond simple betting.

Wen altseason?

Bitcoin Value Drops to Lowest in Three Weeks as Experts Predict Further Decreases

Bitcoin's value has dropped to a 3-week low, with the initial decrease to under $68,000 marking the beginning of a significant Friday correction. Other cryptocurrencies followed Bitcoin's decrease, damaging over-leveraged traders. Bitcoin's value dropped further to just over $66,000 due to escalating tension in the Middle East and other global issues. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe anticipates a deeper correction towards the end of the month, with potential buying opportunities in the lower $60,000 region. Fellow analyst Merlijn The Trader also predicts a further decrease to as low as $47,500 if Bitcoin doesn't quickly reclaim the $69,000 support line. Over $400 million in longs have been wiped out in the past 24 hours due to the decline of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Binance Australia Penalized $6.9 Million for Incorrectly Categorizing Majority of Derivatives Clients

The Federal Court of Australia has slapped Binance Australia with a $6.9 million penalty for incorrectly categorizing over 500 investors as "wholesale clients" on its derivatives platform. This misclassification, which occurred between July 2022 and April 2023, exposed these clients to high-risk crypto-asset derivatives, resulting in losses exceeding $8.27 million. Reports suggest the company admitted to severe shortcomings in client onboarding and staff training, with senior compliance staff failing to provide adequate oversight. One notable instance involved a client being wrongly assessed as a professional investor. Additionally, Binance was tasked with compensating the affected users, totaling $12 million. This oversight, according to ASIC’s Chair, Joe Longo, was not merely a technical breach but had serious ramifications, including over $12 million in client losses.

Bhutan's Bitcoin Transactions and Potential US Troop Deployment in Iran Contribute to Bitcoin's Decline

Bitcoin's value decreased again recently, hitting a low of $67,500 after being rejected at almost $69,000. This decline was influenced by Bhutan's government offloading a substantial portion of its Bitcoin assets, likely with the intention of selling, as the price dropped from a peak of $72,000. Bhutan has transferred over $45 million worth of Bitcoin since the price correction began. In other news, evolving situations in the Middle East may have also contributed to the fall in Bitcoin's price. Reports indicate that the US is considering deploying an additional 10,000 troops to the region. This has led to increased fear and uncertainty within the cryptocurrency market, with signs of more bearish sentiment towards Bitcoin. However, analysts suggest that Bitcoin often moves in the opposite direction of market expectations, implying a potential buying signal.

Is There a Capital Shift Happening from Gold to Bitcoin?

Gold has seen its worst losing streak in over a century, with prices dropping over 25% from January highs. Despite speculation of capital shifting from gold to Bitcoin, both assets are showing signs of weakness. Analysis suggests that a clear rotation signal relies on a divergence between the two assets, which is currently not present. Instead of a decisive shift from gold to Bitcoin, both markets are experiencing parallel weakness or consolidation. However, some market participants speculate that what seems muted now could evolve into a major structural change over time. If capital does eventually transfer from gold to Bitcoin, it could result in one of the largest reallocations in history and significantly boost Bitcoin's long-term trajectory.

Peter Schiff Expresses Concern that Bitcoin-Backed Mortgage Could Heighten Housing Market Dangers

Bitcoin critic, Peter Schiff, raises concerns about a recent mortgage product backed by cryptocurrency collateral, suggesting it could pose higher default risks for lenders. This follows the announcement of a partnership between Better and Coinbase, which aims to launch Fannie Mae-standard mortgages backed by digital tokens. The product will allow borrowers to use their Bitcoin or USDC holdings as collateral for down payments without liquidating them or incurring taxes. Schiff, however, counters this, arguing that the product’s structure essentially transfers risk to lenders. He also raises concerns about the inherent volatility of Bitcoin, suggesting that if its value crashes, the down payment could disappear. This comes at a time when Bitcoin is exhibiting renewed volatility, losing the $70,000 level and falling towards $69,000 due to broader market weakness.

What Impact Could the $15B End-of-Quarter Crypto Options Expiry Have on Today's Markets?

Around 195,400 Bitcoin options contracts, with a notional value of approximately $13.4 billion, are set to expire on March 27. This large-scale expiry event, which is greater than usual due to it marking the end of the month and quarter, could cause volatility in spot markets. The options contracts, which have a put/call ratio of 0.61, indicating more longs than shorts expiring, have a max pain of $75,000, significantly higher than current spot prices. Alongside this, around 1 million Ethereum contracts, with a notional value of $2.1 billion, are also expiring. This brings the total notional value of crypto options expiries to a massive $15.5 billion, marking the largest expiry event since late December's $27 billion contract expiry.

Bo Shen Pledges Up to 20% Reward for Aid in Recouping $42M Lost in 2022 Digital Wallet Breach

Fenbushi Capital's co-founder, Bo Shen, is intensifying efforts to recover approximately $42 million in digital assets pilfered from his personal wallet in a 2022 hack. He is now appealing to the wider crypto community for help. Shen has announced a bounty program offering 10%-20% of any successfully reclaimed funds to anyone providing valuable input to the recovery effort. He lauded the progress of tools like AI-powered data analysis and advanced on-chain forensics in tracking stolen funds across the blockchain. Security teams and individuals who have contributed to the recovery process, including on-chain investigator ZachXBT and security expert Taylor Monahan, have already frozen around $1.2 million worth of related crypto assets. The bounty program is open to all who can provide useful information or technical support resulting in asset recovery.

Justin Sun Introduces AI System to Target Cryptocurrency Fraudsters, Offers $100M Reward

Tron founder, Justin Sun, announced that his team has developed an AI system to detect suspects in cryptocurrency fraud cases. He has also dedicated $100 million in rewards to individuals and law enforcement agencies who assist in bringing these criminals to justice. The AI system, according to Sun, can process complex data and swiftly identify suspects, having already analyzed cases worth over $1 billion. Sun's announcement identified several entities and individuals accused of misappropriating over $456 million in reserves linked to the TrueUSD stablecoin. A website, web3bounty.io, has been established to receive tip submissions. Meanwhile, Tron, under Sun's leadership, recently settled a case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and continues to face scrutiny over its usage, amidst allegations of being a prevalent choice for scam operations, gambling, and money laundering in Southeast Asia.

Bittensor (TAO) Sees 140% Increase in Six Weeks, Yet Data Indicates Retail Is Overlooking Major AI Surge

Bittensor, a decentralized marketplace for machine intelligence, has seen a 140% price increase in the last six weeks, making it the 26th-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. This surge comes as attention towards decentralized artificial intelligence intensifies and capital shifts towards blockchain-based machine learning ecosystems. Despite this, social data shows that retail participation, often associated with substantial speculative activity in other altcoin rallies, is still low. Pseudonymous analyst 'ANBESSA' predicts a move towards the $600 mark for Bittensor, aligning with a broader narrative driven by recent developments within its subnet ecosystem, particularly Templar's completion of the largest decentralized language model pretraining run to date.

Expert Predicts XRP Value Could Reach $27 by 2027

A cryptocurrency analyst has made a bold prediction, stating that XRP could hit a high of $27 by 2027. Their forecast is based on a novel approach that combines the Fibonacci extension levels from past market cycles to identify key price and time convergence points. The analyst's conservative estimate predicts an $8 value by January 2027, while a more optimistic scenario sees it reaching $21 to $27 by August 2027. However, these projections rest on the assumption that XRP will bottom out near $0.87, aligning with the 100-period exponential moving average. At present, XRP struggles to maintain its value above resistance levels, and is currently trading near $1.37. The current value is a significant drop from its all-time high of $3.65 in July 2025.

Observing Five Crucial On-Chain Indicators as Bitcoin Hits Fair Value

Bitcoin is showing mixed signals, with whales accumulating, retail investors selling, and short-term holders incurring losses. Despite no confirmation of a bull market, the Bitcoin Sharpe Signal, measuring the risk-adjusted return momentum, is in a "pre-signal" zone at roughly 0.40. The MVRV Z-Score, comparing Bitcoin's market value to its realized value, stands at 0.56, indicating a fair value range. Short-term holders are selling at a loss, with a loss-to-profit ratio of 8 to 10 times. A positive signal is seen in exchange flows, with larger wallets withdrawing Bitcoins while smaller ones are depositing, suggesting a selling pressure from retail participants. Despite these signs, there are no active bullish signals. Market watchers predict a possible drop to $50,000-$60,000 range, while some believe that Bitcoin hasn’t reached its bottom and could fall to $40,000 before recovery.

US Witnesses Unprecedented Move: Fannie Mae to Accept Crypto-Supported Mortgages

A groundbreaking development in the US mortgage industry sees one of the top mortgage-finance companies preparing to accept mortgages backed by cryptocurrencies. The mortgage firm, Better Home & Finance, in collaboration with Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, will launch a new mortgage product. This product will enable home buyers to use their crypto assets as collateral for a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae. The exact cryptocurrencies eligible for these products, and the valuation of the collateral, remain unclear. This development marks a significant change in the perception of cryptocurrency in the country, potentially freeing up hundreds of billions in liquidity, as individuals will no longer need to liquidate their digital assets to secure home financing.

MARA Holdings Liquidates More Than 15K BTC, Garnering $1.1 Billion

The Florida-based cryptocurrency technology and mining company, MARA Holdings, has sold over 15,000 bitcoin (BTC), generating approximately $1.1 billion. The move, which occurred between March 4 and March 25, 2026, is part of a strategy to strengthen the company's balance sheet and facilitate long-term growth. The proceeds from this sale will be used to fund the repurchase of notes and for general corporate purposes. MARA's CEO, Fred Thiel, stated that this transaction would improve the company’s financial flexibility, provide strategic options for expansion into digital energy and AI/HPC infrastructure, and reduce potential shareholder dilution. Furthermore, the company plans to use the funds to repurchase 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2030 and 2031, expecting to save around $88.1 million in cash and reduce its outstanding convertible indebtedness by up to 30%.

Pallet jack it is...