Geopolitical tensions push bitcoin below $70,000, while ACX surges on a governance overhaul and XRP eyes a technical breakout
Oil shocks drag bitcoin into a slight slip
Bitcoin slipped to $69,393 on Thursday morning, down 0.8% over the past 24 hours and 4.3% on the week, after attacks on two oil tankers in Iraqi waters sent brent crude surging back above $100 a barrel.
The latest spike in oil and renewed Middle East tensions knocked Asian equities and the broader crypto market lower, with major tokens like ether and solana extending weekly losses. The move erased a brief relief rally that had lifted bitcoin above $71,000 earlier in the week.
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments, and tanker traffic has been nearly halted amid security concerns. Iran has signaled an escalation from targeted strikes to sustained operations, raising the prospect of a prolonged supply disruption that could keep energy prices elevated for weeks.
Stagflation fears cloud the Fed outlook
The energy shock is landing at a particularly sensitive moment for monetary policy. The Federal Reserve meets March 17–18, and with oil above $100 and inflation still elevated, rate cuts look increasingly unlikely in the near term.
On-chain data show persistent selling pressure and weak demand for bitcoin, as investors grapple with conflict-driven stagflation fears and fading prospects for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. Rising energy prices have revived worries about global inflation just as central banks were beginning to consider easing policy, with analysts warning that sustained oil above $100 could complicate the Fed’s path toward rate cuts and pressure risk-sensitive assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s technical picture remains bearish, with the asset trading below its 50-day and 100-day moving averages and the Supertrend indicator flashing red on the daily chart.
ACX surges 80% on DAO dissolution plan
Not all tokens are suffering. Risk Labs, the team behind cross-chain bridging protocol Across, is proposing to dissolve the project’s token-based DAO structure and transition its operations to a newly formed U.S. C-corporation, with ACX surging 70% on the news to $0.06.
Under the plan, a new entity called AcrossCo would become the operating company behind the protocol, with ACX tokenholders given two options: an equity exchange and a token buyout. Holders could swap tokens for equity at a 1:1 ratio or redeem them in USDC at $0.04375, a 25% premium over the 30-day average.
The team cited the current DAO structure as a bottleneck, noting that enterprise partners require enforceable contracts and a clear legal counterparty to close the kinds of commercial deals that would drive the protocol’s next growth phase. A formal governance vote is expected in early April.
XRP coils ahead of CPI data
XRP offered a rare pocket of relative calm, trading near $1.38 as volatility compressed across the broader market. Bollinger Bands on the daily chart have tightened noticeably, a pattern that often precedes a larger directional move once liquidity returns, leaving XRP trading between resistance near $1.40 and support closer to $1.35–$1.37.
On-chain and institutional activity remained robust, with daily XRP Ledger transactions topping 2.7 million and XRP-linked investment products amassing about $1.4 billion in assets. Ripple’s announcement of a $750 million share buyback, valuing the company near $50 billion, added a constructive fundamental backdrop.
A decisive break above $1.42 could trigger a move toward $1.67, while losing the $1.35 support opens a path to the $1.30–$1.32 zone. With February CPI now digested and the FOMC meeting looming next week, the squeeze may not hold much longer.