Decentral Block Post

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:

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.

The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of its yield-generating, algorithmic stablecoin despite fears over a potential collapse similar to the Terra-Luna meltdown that led to the industry’s longest crypto winter.

Algorithmic stablecoins employ code-based mechanisms to ensure their price stability, as opposed to fiat stablecoins pegged directly to the value of the underlying currency.

The blockchain project is developing an algorithmic stablecoin that offers an annual percentage rate (APR) of up to 23%, according to Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs and founder of Yearn.finance.

Cronje wrote in a March 22 X post:

Source: Andre Cronje

Chip-making giant Nvidia’s (NVDA) stock is flashing a major bearish signal — the last time this pattern appeared, it retraced nearly 50%. This may raise questions for the AI crypto sector, which has, at times, seemed to react to Nvidia’s price.

“NVDA just formed a Death Cross for the first time since April 2022. The last one sent shares plunging 47% over the next 6 months,” markets data platform Barchart said in a March 23 X post. A death cross is a bearish signal that occurs when the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of an asset’s market price falls below the 200-day SMA.

Nvidia stock price. Source: Barchart

While Nvidia’s stock price formed a bearish signal before the trading week closed on March 21, several crypto AI tokens have risen since then. Render (RENDER) is up 4.06%, while Bittensor (TAO) and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) are both up around 2.88%, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

Nvidia has been a closely watched stock for AI crypto traders in recent times. While some crypto analysts have linked AI crypto token surges to NVDA’s performance — like its nearly 70% rally ahead of Nvidia’s Q2 earnings in 2024 — there have also been times when no clear correlation emerged. 

A crypto analyst says that inaccurate narratives continue to circulate in the cryptocurrency market, largely driven by distorted information rather than being supported by onchain data.

“Beware of misinformation. Despite the data, misleading narratives persist,” CryptoQuant contributor “Onchained,” said in a March 22 market report.

“Such claims often lack onchain validation and are driven by sensationalist market sentiment rather than objective analysis,” the analyst said, adding:

Onchained pointed to the recent movements of Bitcoin (BTC) long-term holders (LTH) — those holding for over 155 days — as an example of false narratives clashing with real data.

The analyst pointed out that while some narratives claim Bitcoin long-term holders are “capitulating,” the data shows they’re remaining consistent. “The data leaves no room for speculation,” Onchained said.

Cryptocurrency wallet providers are getting more sophisticated, but so are bad actors — which means the battle between security and threats is at a deadlock, says a hardware wallet firm executive.

“It will always be a cat and mouse game,” Ledger chief experience officer Ian Rogers told Cointelegraph when describing the constant race between crypto wallet firms adding new security features and hackers finding more advanced ways to access victims’ wallets.

Rogers said, unfortunately, the most straightforward scams work best because scammers rely on people making simple mistakes.

“People give their 24-word phrases to people every day, so as long as that happens, then they are going to go for the low-cost tax,” he said, adding:

Rogers highlighted a common crypto scam where victims get tricked by replies under “any post on Twitter about crypto,” with messages like “DM me, and I’ll help you.”

Gold-backed stablecoins will outcompete US dollar-pegged alternatives worldwide due to gold's inflation-hedging properties and minimum volatility, according to Bitcoin (BTC) maximalist Max Keiser.

Keiser argued that gold is more trusted than the US dollar globally, and said governments of foreign nations with an adversarial relationship to the United States would not accept dollar-pegged stablecoins. The BTC maximalist added:

The potential for gold-backed stablecoins to outcompete dollar-pegged tokens in international markets would upend plans to extend US dollar dominance through stablecoins proposed by US lawmakers.

Source: Max Keiser

Related: Gov’t can realize gains on gold certificates to buy Bitcoin: Bo Hines

The current Bitcoin (BTC) bear market, defined as a 20% or more drop from the all-time high, is relatively weak in terms of magnitude and should only last for 90 days, according to market analyst and the author of Metcalfe's Law as a Model for Bitcoin's Value, Timothy Peterson.

Peterson compared the current downturn to the 10 previous bear markets, which occur roughly once per year, and said that only four bear markets have been worse than the price decline in terms of duration, including 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024.

The analyst predicted that BTC will not sink deeply below the $50,000 price level due to the underlying adoption trends. However, Peterson also argued that based on momentum, it is unlikely that BTC will break below $80,000. The analyst added:

Crypto markets experienced a sharp downturn following United States President Trump's tariffs on several US trading partners, which sparked counter-tariffs on US exports, leading to fears of a prolonged trade war.

Comparison of every bear market since 2025. Source: Timothy Peterson

Bilal Bin Saqib, the CEO of Pakistan's Crypto Council, has proposed using the country's runoff energy to fuel Bitcoin (BTC) mining at the Crypto Council's inaugural meeting on March 21.

According to an article from The Nation, the council is exploring comprehensive regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies to attract foreign direct investment and establish Pakistan as a crypto hub.

The meeting included lawmakers, the Bank of Pakistan's governor, the chairman of Pakistan's Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), and the federal information technology secretary. Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb had this to say about the meeting:

The Crypto Council represents a radical departure from the government of Pakistan's previous stance on crypto. In May 2023, former minister of state for finance and revenue, Aisha Ghaus Pasha said crypto would never be legal in the country.

Pasha cited anti-money laundering restrictions under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as the primary motivation for the government's anti-crypto stance.

Suriname’s new presidential candidate Parbhoe wants a deeper Bitcoin nation than Nayib Bukele’s El Salvador. 

Retail users in Hong Kong can now buy Ether and Bitcoin through Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank. They need an account and to undergo a risk assessment. 

If Satoshi is behind the 2010 wallets, it makes sense to leave the 2009 wallets alone to avoid drawing attention, BTCparser said.

We’ve all “got drunk on the ChatGPT Kool-Aid” over the past few years said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. 

PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said the new rule was designed to help manage the power grid as more mining facilities come online.

The new wealth record has been driven by a Tesla stock surge late last week and a $50 billion funding round for Musk’s AI startup. 

Mechanism Capital’s Andrew Kang said DeSci protocols will likely change their existing models before evolving into more market-ready products.

Terraform Labs’ near $4.5 billion settlement with the SEC has contributed to a record year for the agency’s financial penalties.

Dogecoin, XRP, Stellar and Sandbox saw a larger liquidation share than usual as some top altcoins from the 2020-21 cycle soared as much as 50%.

Wrapped Bitcoin was launched in 2019 to give Bitcoin investors an option to use the asset in decentralized finance applications.

Bitcoin sellers take the upper hand as BTC struggles to rally to $100,000. What will altcoins do?

According to stablecoin firm Tether, over $134 billion USDt tokens are circulating across various blockchain protocols as of November 2024.