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- Bitcoin Rallies Past $75K on ETF Inflows and a $600M Short Squeeze
Bitcoin Rallies Past $75K on ETF Inflows and a $600M Short Squeeze
Plus: OpenSea shelves its token launch, and South Korea fines Bithumb $24.6 million
Juan Aranovich
March 17, 2026
Hi! In today’s edition:
Bitcoin pushes past $75K on ETF inflows and a short squeeze
OpenSea delays SEA token launch indefinitely
South Korea fines Bithumb $24.6M for AML failures
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Bitcoin Rallies as ETF Inflows Surge and Shorts Get Squeezed
Bitcoin is pushing higher again, trading around $73,100 as of early morning, with momentum building after weeks of heavy selling. A key driver has been renewed institutional demand, especially through U.S. spot ETFs, which have now logged a six day inflow streak.
Since March 9, Bitcoin ETFs have attracted nearly $1 billion in net inflows, with $199 million added in a single day. BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s fund led the charge, reinforcing the idea that large players are stepping back in as prices recover.
At the same time, market structure is helping the move. Over $600 million in liquidations hit the market in the past 24 hours, with the majority coming from short positions, fueling a squeeze that pushed BTC toward $75,000 on Monday.
Sentiment is also improving. The Fear and Greed Index has climbed out of extreme fear, while easing macro tensions have supported risk assets.
Still, analysts caution the rally is flow driven, meaning it will need sustained demand to hold.
OpenSea Shelves Token Launch as Its Quiet Pivot Away From NFTs Stalls
OpenSea's transformation from the dominant NFT marketplace into a multi-chain trading hub has been one of crypto's more ambitious pivots. The token that was supposed to cap it off will have to wait.
CEO Devin Finzer announced Monday that the OpenSea Foundation is pushing back the SEA token generation event, which had been slated to begin during a March 30 event. No new date was given. "A delay is a delay. I'm not going to dress it up, and I know how it lands," Finzer posted on X, citing challenging market conditions.
The timing problem runs deeper than a rough week. NFT market capitalization has fallen roughly 50% since mid-January to around $1.6 billion, and OpenSea's monthly volumes have slipped below $500 million. Yet the platform's OS2 rebuild has quietly shifted its center of gravity, with more than 90% of its October trading volume coming from regular crypto swaps rather than NFTs.
To soften the delay, OpenSea will end its current rewards wave, offer fee refunds for participants in waves three through six, and introduce zero-percent token trading fees for 60 days starting March 31.
South Korea Cracks Down on Bithumb With $24M Fine
South Korea’s regulatory pressure on crypto just intensified. Authorities have fined Bithumb 36.8 billion won, about $24.6 million, and imposed a six month partial suspension after uncovering widespread anti money laundering failures.
The violations are significant. Regulators identified roughly 6.65 million breaches, including 3.55 million cases of failed customer identity checks and more than 3 million instances where suspicious transactions were not properly blocked. The exchange also processed tens of thousands of transfers involving unregistered overseas crypto firms, despite repeated warnings.
The suspension targets new users only, meaning existing customers can continue trading and moving funds. Still, the penalties extend beyond the platform itself. Bithumb’s CEO received a formal reprimand, while its compliance officer was suspended.
This is part of a broader crackdown. South Korea has already fined Upbit and Korbit for similar issues, signaling a clear shift toward stricter oversight.
Today on Unchained on Air
A $50 million DeFi trade that effectively ended in $36,000. Then a conversation about why token markets still struggle to command the same trust as equity.
Starting at 12pm ET, DEX in the City breaks down DeFi’s execution failures, the SEC-CFTC coordination pact, prediction market guidance, and Mastercard’s crypto payments expansion.
Then Unchained turns to tokens versus equity with Ryan Yi and Felipe Montealegre.
One continuous livestream, two debates about how crypto markets are actually built.
📊 🏦 Abra, the crypto wealth platform that settled with the SEC and 25 states over unregistered offerings two years ago, agreed to go public through a SPAC merger valuing the company at $750 million , with up to 300 million dollars in proceeds earmarked for expansion into tokenized real-world assets.
⚖️ 📋 The SEC closed its case against BitClout creator Nader Al-Naji after both sides agreed to a stipulated dismissal, ending allegations that his defunct social token platform raised over $257 million through unregistered sales, a year after the DOJ separately dropped wire fraud charges against him.
🗳️ 🏛️ Crypto super PACs spent nearly $10 million targeting Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton in Tuesday's Democratic Senate primary, backing crypto-friendly congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in what has become the lobby's first major electoral test of the 2026 cycle.
🟠 📈 Strategy added 22,337 bitcoin worth roughly $1.57 billion at an average price of $70,194 per coin, its fifth-largest weekly purchase, funded mostly through preferred stock sales as the company's total stash climbed to 761,068 BTC.
🇯🇵 💴 Metaplanet raised roughly $255 million through a premium-priced share placement with attached warrants that could unlock an additional 276 million dollars, as the Japanese firm pushes its bitcoin treasury toward a long-term target of 210,000 BTC from its current 35,102.
💼 🔗 Ironlight Group raised $21 million in a Series A round backed by former TD Bank CEO Greg Braca and the Sei Development Foundation, funding expansion of its regulated alternative trading system for tokenized securities including private equity, fixed income, and real estate.
