Bitcoin fluctuated between US$75k and $85k during a volatile week. A combination of macroeconomic uncertainty and upcoming interest rate decisions caused turbulence for both the crypto and equity markets.
Bitcoin and Ethereum were down -1.91% and -11.50% respectively over the seven days to 17 March 2025. Bitcoin’s market capitalisation, as of writing, is sitting at around US$1.67 trillion. The global crypto market capitalisation has declined to around US$2.76 trillion. Bitcoin’s market dominance is at 60.7%.
| |
Price |
High |
Low |
Change from previous week |
| BTC (in US$) |
$84,241 |
$85,968 |
$76,985 |
-1.91% |
| ETH (in US$) |
$1,928 |
$2,179 |
$1,799 |
-11.50% |
Source: CoinMarketCap. As at 16 March 2025. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Performance is shown in US dollars and does not take into account any USD/AUD currency movements.
Source: Glassnode. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
Crypto news we’re watching
Ripple to offer crypto payments in UAE
Ripple has become the first blockchain payment provider to receive a licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). This will allow the company to offer regulated crypto payments in the UAE. Ripple says it has seen increasing demand in the region from crypto-native firms and financial institutions. The company has stated that around 20% of its global customer base is already operating in the Middle East.
The approval is one of over 60 regulatory approvals the company has secured worldwide. These include:
- A major payments institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
- A trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)
- Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration from the Central Bank of Ireland, and
- Multiple money transmitter licences (MTLs) across the United States1.
BlackRock adds its iShares Bitcoin Trust to its alternative asset model portfolio
BlackRock has added a 1-2% allocation to the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in its Alternative Asset Model Portfolio. This marks the first time the world’s largest asset manager has included IBIT in any of its models. This could signal wider institutional adoption of Bitcoin and potentially prompt some advisers and platforms to follow suit.
Michael Gates, Managing Director, Head of Model Portfolio Solutions, Americas at BlackRock, said in a report that “there are several substantive arguments that support Bitcoin’s long-term investment merit.”
“Collectively, these features may help provide unique and additive sources of risk premia and diversification to traditional multi-asset portfolios,” Gates added2.
CRYP company spotlight
CleanSpark set to join S&P SmallCap 600 Index
American Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) will be joining the S&P SmallCap 600 Index next week.
Speaking on the inclusion, CEO Zachary Bradford said, “our inclusion embraces visibility within the investment community and gives us an opportunity to demonstrate the value of being a pure play, vertically integrated Bitcoin mining company and making exposure to pure model more broadly available3.”
CLSK is currently held in the Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP)4. CRYP provides exposure to global companies at the forefront of the crypto economy5.
Bitcoin (BTC): Total supply held by short-term holders
The following chart shows the total amount of circulating supply held by short-term holders. The supply of long-term and short-term holders is defined based on the entity’s average purchasing date. Weights are assigned according to a logistic function centred around an age of 155 days and a transition width of 10 days.
According to Glassnode data, the number of short-term holders (as at 15 March 2025) has been steadily increasing since October. The number of short-term holders are now at a level not seen since April 2021, indicating many new entrants into the market.
Source: Glassnode. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
While most of the top 20 altcoins were either in the red or slightly higher, Toncoin (TON) was able to buck the trend, managing a return of over 18%.
Toncoin’s price spiked over the weekend after Pavel Durev, the founder of Telegram, was given his passport back by French authorities. Durev was arrested in August 2024 and charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist and terrorist content. He was eventually released on €5 million bail. Supporters see this as a win for privacy and free speech6.
TON is The Open Network’s native cryptocurrency and is the exclusive blockchain infrastructure for Telegram’s Mini App ecosystem.
References:
1. https://cryptoslate.com/ripples-becomes-first-blockchain-to-acquire-dubai-regulatory-approval-for-cross-border-payment/
2. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/02/28/blackrock-adds-bitcoin-etf-to-alternative-asset-model-portfolio
3. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cleanspark-set-to-join-the-sp-smallcap-600-index-302396536.html
4. As at 14 March 2025. No assurance is given that this company will remain in the portfolio or will be a profitable investment.
5. CRYP will not invest in crypto assets directly, and will not track price movements of any crypto assets. For more information on risks and other features of CRYP, please see the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination (TMD), available at www.betashares.com.au.
6. https://cryptopotato.com/why-did-toncoins-ton-price-skyrocket-by-20-in-minutes/
Off the Chain is published every second Tuesday. It provides the latest news on bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market, along with analysis and insights into the world of crypto.
It provides general information only and is not a recommendation to invest in any crypto asset, crypto-focused company or investment product.
