Buyers of the leading cryptocurrency are returning to Binance and Coinbase for the first time after two months of heavy selling, CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost noted.
🗞️ Buyer activity returns to bitcoin after heavy february selling
Despite escalating tensions in Iran, Bitcoin continues to show a degree of resilience, particularly compared to equities and commodities, which are increasingly displaying toppish market structures.
This is all… pic.twitter.com/NoAMPr8HFD
— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) March 17, 2026
He said bitcoin is showing unexpected resilience amid the flare-up around Iran and a potentially hawkish the Fed. On March 17 the cryptocurrency tested $75,000 — a one-and-a-half-month high.
The key sign of a turn in sentiment is a shift in trading volumes towards buyers on leading venues, the expert noted. On February 16 the 30-day moving average of volume delta on Binance was minus $145 million, and on Coinbase minus $88 million. Retail and institutional participants were only selling then.
By mid-March the picture is different: the average delta on Binance has turned positive at $21 million, and on Coinbase at $14 million.
“The move is still moderate, but it marks a clear improvement compared with February conditions,” Darkfost stated.
He cautioned that the trend needs confirmation. The crypto market still lacks liquidity. However, if it persists, the current dynamic could gradually support the price and allow bitcoin to break out of its narrow range, the analyst concluded.
Other positive signals
Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets, citing Bernstein, added that retail investors’ panic “did not break” long-term holders.
“Bitcoin retail holders have panic sold in recent months. However, long term holders remain resilient. Bitcoin holders inactive for more than 1 year stands at 60% of total supply. This ownership structure is unique to Bitcoin signifying long term ’believers’ who remain… pic.twitter.com/haOsfc3aR5
— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) March 16, 2026
At present, 60% of all coins have not moved for more than a year. Specialists called this ownership structure unique to bitcoin. It shows that most investors view the asset as a store of value, despite last year’s underperformance versus gold.
“At the same time, almost 14% of BTC issuance already belongs to ETF, corporate treasuries (including Strategy) and governments. Bitcoin’s stable capital base continues to grow,” the analysts noted.
An investor under the nickname Sweep drew attention to funding rates for the digital gold. For the first time in the past two weeks they have moved into the “green zone”.
Bitcoin perpetual funding rates have been negative for 14 consecutive days
The entire market was short
Today, funding just flipped green. The last time this happened, Bitcoin 4x'd pic.twitter.com/W5zIEHucUd
— Sweep (@0xSweep) March 16, 2026
“The last time this happened, bitcoin quadrupled,” the expert wrote.
CryptoQuant analyst Ignacio Moreno de Vicente noted a structural signal for a shift in market regime. The IFP has crossed its 90-day moving average for the first time in a while.
A Structural Liquidity Signal Just Turned Positive for Bitcoin
“Bitcoin’s Inter-Exchange Flow Pulse (IFP) has recently flipped back into bullish territory as the indicator crosses above its 90-day moving average.” – By @MorenoDV_ pic.twitter.com/fLkZEkZiOC
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) March 16, 2026
Historically, such signals preceded sustained growth phases in 2016, 2019 and 2022.
At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency is trading around $73,600.
MN Trading founder Michaël van de Poppe believes the next target could be the $76,000–$80,000 range.
#Bitcoin starts to trend upwards and is on its way towards the next resistance around $76-80K.
I don’t think we’ll pass that in one-go, but atleast we’re building a monthly engulfing and, slowly, but surely, the sentiment switches. pic.twitter.com/KyhGaOczzf
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) March 17, 2026
“I don’t think we’ll pass that level in one go, but at least we’re building a monthly engulfing pattern and, slowly but surely, sentiment is shifting,” he shared.
In March, Santiment analysts recorded an accumulation of positions in bitcoin by large holders.