NEW YORK, March 14, 2026, 14:17 EDT
Bitcoin slipped to around $70,600 Saturday, giving up gains after failing to push past $74,000 late Friday. Still, it stayed above pre-Iran conflict levels. The cryptocurrency was last at $70,587, off roughly 0.9% for the day, after an earlier high of $71,470 and a swift drop from Friday’s $73,838 peak.
Fresh capital continues to pour into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs—giving investors a way into bitcoin without owning the underlying token—even as the Federal Reserve approaches its March 17-18 meeting and oil holds north of $100 a barrel. The focus has zeroed in on the $73,000 to $74,000 range, where traders are probing whether institutional buying will finally punch through a ceiling that’s held for the past two weeks.
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs brought in $180.4 million on March 13, according to Farside Investors. BlackRock’s IBIT was out in front, pulling $143.6 million, while Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $23.2 million. Those flows marked the fifth session in a row of inflows, bringing total net inflows since March 9 up to roughly $763.4 million.
Friday’s surge carried over to adjacent markets. Strategy jumped 5%, Coinbase climbed almost 3% early after bitcoin cleared $73,000. Ether, meanwhile, changed hands at $2,073.86 on Saturday, keeping it in focus as the number two crypto as investors tracked any broader move.
Jake Ostrovskis, who runs over-the-counter trading at Wintermute, pointed to rising oil prices and worries over cooling growth as reasons some traders now see bitcoin as a likely winner from looming government stimulus. He drew a parallel to bitcoin’s bounce following the April 2025 sell-off, when President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs rattled markets. The Wall Street Journal
On Saturday, headlines took control again. Bitcoin slid 3.5% from Friday’s $73,838 peak after U.S. forces hit Iran’s Kharg Island, eventually steadying around $71,000. According to a CoinDesk market report published that day, the $73,000 to $74,000 zone has now repelled bitcoin four separate times in just two weeks.
Macro factors are driving the action. Brent wrapped up Friday at $103.14 a barrel, Reuters said, while traders have slashed their bets on Fed rate cuts this year—just 20 basis points of expected easing now, compared to 50 basis points a month earlier. Another Reuters poll put the June cut as the main scenario, but economists warned that rising oil prices could push it back.
There’s a sticking point for bitcoin bulls. Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, flagged that inflation is still “elevated, sticky,” and said higher energy prices could give the Fed reason to pause for longer. Federated Hermes’ Mitch Reznick described geopolitical headlines as coming “like water from a fire hose.” If the Fed leans more hawkish next week—or if oil infrastructure takes a direct hit—bitcoin could quickly slide back toward the $63,000 level seen just after the Feb. 28 strikes. Reuters
All told, the near-term picture stays tight. With ETF inflows still arriving and bitcoin staying above its pre-conflict range, traders have their eyes glued to the $73,000–$74,000 band. A solid push through would suggest that March’s rebound still has momentum. But if bitcoin falters again at that level, expect more sideways action clustered near $70,000.
