LONDON, March 12, 2026, 17:48 GMT
Bitcoin stayed near the $70,000 mark Thursday, shrugging off fresh oil strength—crude approaching $100 a barrel—and Wall Street’s latest pullback triggered by rising Middle East tensions. The largest cryptocurrency recently traded at $70,323, off 0.7% for the day, after dipping to $69,240 earlier.
Bitcoin’s cleared $70,000 again — a sharp turnaround from the early February slide that knocked it down to a 16-month low near $60,000. The timing’s notable: demand from U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which actually own bitcoin, has started to accelerate. Still, the rally’s running into some stiff headwinds: oil prices are climbing, the dollar’s strengthening, and markets have all but abandoned dreams of rapid Fed rate cuts.
The buying hasn’t let up. U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs hauled in $115.2 million on Wednesday, per Farside Investors, following Tuesday’s $246.9 million. BlackRock’s IBIT pulled in $115.3 million for the day, with Fidelity’s FBTC adding $15.4 million.
The U.S. inflation readout on Wednesday offered a bit of relief at the edges. According to the Labor Department, consumer prices climbed 2.4% over the year ending in February. For the month, core CPI—excluding food and energy—ticked up 0.2%.
The reaction was sharp but short-lived. Brent shot past $101 a barrel for a moment; global equities slipped. “The main thing that matters today is gas and oil,” said Benjamin Ford, researcher at Macro Hive. Monica Guerra at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management flagged a risk: if oil prices stay elevated, “the Fed’s reaction function could be complicated.” Reuters
Policy wagers are shifting in the days before the Fed’s March 18 meeting. In a Reuters poll, most economists still see the first rate cut landing in June, but futures traders have started pricing in September instead. Jeremy Schwartz, senior U.S. economist at Nomura, pointed to the Iran conflict, saying it’s driving up global energy costs and could push up both headline inflation and some core categories.
Ether held steady at $2,064, showing little movement. Crypto-focused analysts sounded wary: Mudrex’s Akshat Siddhant pointed to options markets pricing in “only about a 17% probability” of bitcoin breaking above $75,000 any time soon. Giottus CEO Vikram Subburaj noted bitcoin mostly stuck in a tight $69,300-$69,400 range on Thursday. According to the CoinSwitch Markets Desk, $75,000 has stubbornly capped gains for more than a month now. The Economic Times
The risk is straightforward: persistent high oil prices, a firming dollar and slowing ETF inflows could drag bitcoin under $70,000, reviving doubts about whether February’s bounce was just a breather before a bigger slide. But so far, consistent fund demand is holding that line.
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