Key Highlights:
- The crypto market is finally gaining back its strength.
- The market cap of the crypto market has hit the $2.53 trillion mark.
- Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin.
The crypto currency market is back on track as the prices of the tokens have increased and the market capitalization of the entire crypto market has hit the $2.53 trillion mark.
Bitcoin also hit the $75,000 mark today, March 17, 2026, even though it was for a very small period of time. On the other hand, Ethereum is gathering a huge attention as it has outpaced Bitcoin gains in the last 24 hours. All of this indicates that there has been a renewed strength in the broader market.
There are various factors because of which everything is coming together at once and all of this is helping crypto stay positive given the current geopolitical scenario.
Institutional Money is Driving the Rally
As per the data that has been collected from SoSoValue, BTC and ETH ETFs have recorded inflows for the past three weeks and the inflows continue. As of March 16, 2026, BTC ETFs saw an inflow of $201.62 million and ETH ETFs saw an inflow of $35.90 million.
For BTC ETF, the highest inflow was recorded by BlackRock’s ETF IBIT with a daily net inflow of $139.40 million, and the total historical net inflow of IBIT currently stands at $63.21 billion, as per SoSoValue data.
For ETH ETF, the highest inflow was recorded by Fidelity’s ETF FETH, with a single-day net inflow of $34.8813 million, and the total historical net inflow of FETH currently stands at $2.412 billion, as per SoSoValue data.
This inflows clearly indicate that with this huge amount of money flowing into ETFs, big investors are finally stepping back into the crypto market.
Also, in order to provide ETF products, providers have to buy actual Bitcoin to back those investments. This reduces the available supply on the exchanges and creates a pressure on the price.
Moreover, altcoins like XRP and Solana led the market and Bitcoin and Ethereum lagged. That trend seems to be reversing, as the crypto giants are getting back their control.
Ethereum is Leading the Market Higher
Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin in gains within the last few days. As stated above, all of these gains have been possible because of increased investor interest, increased inflows in the ETH ETF products and large accumulation of ETH tokens by whales. For instance, BitMine accumulated 60,999 ETH recently, and the founder of ShapeShift also bought 33,544 ETH.
The price of the token has also surpassed the $2,300 mark earlier today. At press time, the price of the token stands at $2,317.12 with an uptick of 2.17% in the last 24-hours as per CoinMarketCap.
Macro Uncertainty Is Supporting Crypto Demand
With the US-Iran war, there is a huge uncertainty within the market. It has been observed that whenever such geopolitical tensions arise, the crypto market is the first one to take the hit. However, this time around, there was a shift observed.
Instead of rushing towards traditional assets such as gold, investors shifted to Bitcoin. According to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, Bitcoin showed more interest than gold. This is indicating that the Bitcoin is being considered as store of value during such situations.
Final Thoughts
The crypto market is finally gaining back its strength and it’s all because of Bitcoin and Ethereum. With more inflows and positive sentiments, this move seems more grounded than previous moves. If this trend is sustained, then there may be a more stable trend in the near future.
Also Read: Bitcoin Crosses $75K as Institutional Demand for BTC ETF Lifts Market
