NEW YORK, March 16, 2026, 2:48 p.m. EDT
Bitcoin pushed past $74,000 on Monday, reaching levels not seen since early February. The cryptocurrency traded recently at $74,220, up over 3%. Crypto-related stocks also moved higher.
This rebound snaps a six-week slump that followed February’s sharp selloff, arriving just ahead of a packed central bank calendar. Back on Feb. 6, Bitcoin dropped to $60,017.60, and the entire crypto market had already shed around $2 trillion since early October. Now, traders are seeing if new demand holds up, with oil prices and inflation pressures still shaping the broader landscape.
Strategy jumped in again, picking up 22,337 bitcoin for roughly $1.57 billion from March 9 to March 15, according to a filing Monday. That lifts its stash to 761,068 coins at an average of $75,696 per bitcoin.
ETF appetite picked up as well. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw nearly $763 million in net inflows last week, their third consecutive positive week, according to Farside Investors. BlackRock’s IBIT alone accounted for about $600 million of that total.
Even so, not everyone’s convinced this is a decisive move up. Alexander Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro, suggested bitcoin might still be stuck in a “corrective rebound pattern following a decline.” Trade Nation’s David Morrison echoed that caution, warning, “bulls should be careful now” if the momentum drops off. FXStreet
Macro factors gave stocks a boost too. Oil pulled back—U.S. crude dropped 5.19% to $93.60 a barrel—after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled Washington was “fine” with certain ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. That helped global shares rebound following three down sessions. Still, crude remains up almost 40% for March. Reuters
Shares tied to crypto tracked bitcoin’s climb. Strategy shares were up roughly 5.7% in afternoon U.S. trading, while Coinbase advanced 4.7%. Robinhood picked up 2.6%. That’s another example of how U.S.-listed crypto stocks continue to mirror bitcoin’s moves.
Still, what we’re seeing is a rebound, not a full snapback to those old peaks. Bitcoin lags its October high by about 41%, stuck well below the $125,835.92 record. And with the Fed’s outlook up in the air—James McCann at Edward Jones flagged oil volatility as something that “could quickly change the Fed’s thinking”—the rally stays vulnerable. Any abrupt policy move or geopolitical drama could hit the current bounce. Reuters
