Bitcoin (BTC) Climbs Toward $75K as ETFs Draw $833M and Major Holders Accumulate $2.1B

Key Takeaways

• BTC reached a four-week peak approaching $75,000 before settling around $74,290
• Approximately $530 million in cryptocurrency liquidations occurred, predominantly affecting short sellers at 80%
• Optimism surrounding potential US-Iran diplomatic progress is viewed as the primary catalyst
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $833 million in net capital inflows over the previous week
• Large wallet addresses accumulated 30,000 BTC throughout March, representing approximately $2.1 billion

Bitcoin successfully breached the $73,000 threshold on Monday after three previous rejection attempts over the preceding eight days, climbing to $74,484 — marking its strongest performance since the Iran tensions escalated in late February.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price

This price movement resulted in $534 million worth of forced liquidations affecting approximately 180,000 market participants. Short positions accounted for $430 million of these liquidations, representing the second substantial short squeeze within a six-day period.

Source: Coinglass

Ethereum demonstrated stronger performance than Bitcoin, climbing 7.7% to $2,366 — reaching levels not seen in approximately ten weeks. Solana advanced 4.6%, while BNB increased 3.3%. All top-10 cryptocurrency assets by market capitalization recorded positive movements across both 24-hour and seven-day timeframes.

The most significant individual liquidation involved a $12.4 million BTC-USDT short position on the Aster exchange. Bitcoin represented $229 million in aggregate liquidations, with Ethereum following at $136 million.

Market participants are attributing the upward movement to indications from President Trump suggesting potential willingness to re-engage in diplomatic discussions with Iran. Despite a US military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz commencing Monday, financial markets appear to interpret this as a negotiating tactic rather than military escalation.

Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, shared with Cointelegraph: “Market participants believe the US and Iran are progressing toward an agreement. Iran is urgently seeking to negotiate a settlement, and equity and cryptocurrency markets are responding positively.”

The S&P 500 has completely recovered all declines stemming from the Iran conflict, while the MSCI All Country World Index extended its winning streak to eight consecutive sessions.

Institutional Investment and Large Holder Behavior

Bitcoin ETFs captured $833 million in net positive flows throughout the past week. James Butterfill from CoinShares indicated this “demonstrates renewed risk appetite following preliminary ceasefire progress regarding Iran, combined with support from weaker-than-anticipated US consumer spending and inflation figures.”

Source: Farside Investors

Blockchain analytics from Santiment reveal that addresses containing between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC increased their holdings by 30,000 tokens during March — valued at roughly $2.1 billion. Approximately 20,000 BTC of this accumulation occurred within a 24-hour window.

The Santiment analytics account highlighted on X that these large holders now possess over 4.25 million BTC, representing 21.3% of circulating supply — their highest concentration since mid-February.

Technical Outlook and Key Levels

Trading organization Valerius Labs observed: “This movement doesn’t constitute a genuine breakout. It’s a short squeeze encountering resistance zones. Authentic demand emerges above the 200-period simple moving average, not 15% beneath it.”

CryptoQuant has identified critical resistance approaching $79,000 — corresponding to the Traders’ Realized Price, where recent participants who entered during the downturn reach their cost basis and may consider profit-taking.

The 4-hour Relative Strength Index has advanced to 62, surpassing its 14-period moving average, which technical analysts interpret as strengthening bullish momentum. The current ceasefire arrangement between the US and Iran is scheduled to conclude next week, with additional diplomatic sessions under consideration.