WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A mood of cautious optimism prevails in crypto markets amidst anticipation ahead of the talks between the U.S. and Iran. The positive flows to U.S.-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot ETF products supported sentiment. Inline readings of headline inflation and less-than-expected levels of core inflation from the U.S. for March also supported sentiment. The overnight decline in crude oil prices also supported sentiment. Overall market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has gained more than a percent in the past 24 hours while Bitcoin touched a high of $73,107 during the same period.
Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S. witnessed net inflows of $358 million on Thursday versus net outflows of $94 million on Wednesday and $159 million on Tuesday. Market leader iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF topped with net inflows of $269 million. Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) followed with net inflows of $53 million.
Ethereum Spot ETF products in the U.S. witnessed net inflows of $85 million on Thursday as compared with net outflows of $19 million on Wednesday and $65 million on Tuesday. iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) topped with inflows of $91 million followed by iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) that recorded inflows of $14 million.
Markets also cheered the lack of negative surprises on the inflation front. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just a while ago showed headline inflation readings in line with estimates. Annual headline inflation increased to 3.3 percent from 2.4 percent in tandem with the forecasts. Headline inflation on a month-on-month basis jumped to 0.9 percent from 0.3 percent, exactly as the markets had expected.
Core consumer prices in the United States, which exclude food and energy prices increased by 2.6 percent on a year-on-year basis. Markets had expected it to rise to 2.7 percent from 2.5 percent in February. Likewise, on a month-on-month basis, core inflation remained steady at 0.2 percent, whereas markets had expected it to rise to 0.3 percent.
The geopolitical de-escalation triggered by the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and hopes of meaningful negotiations in the upcoming talks between the two nations supported a bullish momentum and short squeeze. Data from Coinglass shows short positions surpassing long positions in the 24-hour liquidation statistics. Crypto liquidations - forced closure of a trader's leveraged position by an exchange or lending protocol for insufficient funds (margin or collateral) to cover potential losses - in the past 24 hours stood at $362 million comprising long positions of $104 million and short positions of $258 million.
CoinMarketCap's Fear and Greed Index that measures the sentiment in the crypto market rose further in the 'neutral' territory to 47 from 45 a day ago. The reading was at 25 a week earlier that denoted a state of 'fear'.
Amidst the improved market sentiment, overall crypto market capitalization has rallied 1.2 percent in the past 24 hours to $2.45 trillion. The 24-hour trading volume has increased 12 percent to $100 billion. Around 58 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are trading with overnight gains of more than a percent whereas only 11 are trading with overnight losses of more than a percent.
Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency is trading 1.5 percent higher at $72,205.75. The current price is around 43 percent below the all-time high of $126,198.07 recorded on October 7, 2025. The original cryptocurrency has gained 8.4 percent in the past week, restricting year-to-date losses to 17.5 percent.
Bitcoin is continuing in the 12th position in the global ranking of all assets as per market capitalization published by companiesmarketcap.com. Meta Platforms (META) is ranked 11th whereas Tesla (TSLA) is ranked 13th.
Ethereum (ETH) added 1.7 percent overnight as it traded at $2,217.35. The leading alternate coin is trading 55 percent below the all-time-high of $4,953.73 recorded on August 25, 2025.
Meanwhile, Ethereum has improved one notch to the 71st rank in the global ranking of all assets as per market capitalization published by companiesmarketcap.com.
4th ranked XRP (XRP) added 0.94 percent overnight and is currently trading at $1.34, around 65 percent below the all-time high of $3.84 touched on January 4, 2018.
5th ranked BNB (BNB) edged down 0.03 percent overnight resulting in price decreasing to $602.72. BNB is trading 56 percent below the all-time high of $1,370.55 touched on October 13, 2025.
The price of 7th ranked Solana (SOL) increased 2.3 percent overnight to $84.08. SOL's current price is around 71 percent below its all-time-high of $294.33 recorded on January 19, 2025.
TRON (TRX) ranked 8th overall edged down 0.12 percent overnight and is currently changing hands at $0.3181. The trading price is 28 percent below the cryptocurrency's all-time high of $0.4407 recorded on December 4, 2024.
9th ranked Dogecoin (DOGE) added 1.6 percent overnight and is currently trading at $0.0930. DOGE is trading 87 percent below the peak price of $0.7376 recorded on May 8, 2021.
10th ranked Hyperliquid (HYPE) jumped 5.4 percent in the past 24 hours. HYPE is trading at $41.26, around 31 percent below the all-time high of $59.39 recorded on September 18, 2025.
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