Crypto Weekly Market Wrap 17th March 2025: Bitcoin Dips, Russia Adopts Crypto for Oil Trade, and More

The crypto market has witnessed a turbulent week, with significant price fluctuations. Bitcoin dropped to levels last seen in November 2024, while major altcoins traded in the red. Moreover, the week observed several key developments, so read up to the end to ensure you have a detailed and deep dive into the crypto weekly market wrap of 17th March 2025.

Thailand Approves USDT and USDC for Exchange Trading

The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) categorized USDT and USDC as compliant tokens. This decision opens up the legal use and management of these stablecoins in the Thai market. The regulation which commenced on March 16, 2025, aimed to increase digital asset freedom and foster innovation.

Earlier on, there were only BTC, ETH, XRP, XLM, and some of the settlement assets approved by the regulatory bodies. The decision is positive for the growth of Thailand’s digital economy and increases the choice of payment types. Many participants believe that this approval will lead to enhanced use of stablecoins in the country’s commerce and cross-border transactions.

Since stablecoins have been legalized, trading may be enhanced for both businesses and individuals. This change may also imply that Thailand will open up to blockchain technology and other friendly crypto regulations in the near future.

Russia Utilizes Crypto for Oil Trade With China and India

Russia has entered into using digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoins like the USDT in the oil business between Russia and China as well as India. The shift also aids in avoiding the restrictions posed by Western countries and simultaneously speeds up the settlements of transactions. Certain Russian businesses are using cryptocurrencies to exchange Indian rupees for rubles. Some insiders claim that the use of cryptocurrencies will remain high even if the sanctions are lifted.

Trump Administration has let the General License for Russia to sell oil to western countries expire. That means no European Country or ally who works with the United States can buy Russian oil without the threat of sanctions. #Oil #Russia pic.twitter.com/fe5mv9aA4d

— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) March 13, 2025

The $192 billion oil industry continues to employ digital means and tools to perform trades without the use of the U.S. dollar. Middlemen play a critical role in managing crypto transactions for Russian energy exports. This shows how cryptocurrencies are gradually becoming part of the global trade system.

Coinbase Resumes Operations in India After Securing FIU Registration

After getting itself registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Coinbase was able to re-enter the Indian market. The approval enables the exchange to offer its trading services in one of the most burgeoning crypto markets globally. The new company also intends to enter retail-level operations before the end of the year 2025.

John O’Loghlen, the Regional Managing Director for APAC said that India is one of the primary development market combinations. While there were many issues in the past, increasing interest in blockchain makes better conditions for international crypto firms. India is still considered to be an attractive market for digital asset enterprises.

India has changed its position regarding digital assets and has established a positive legal position. The country currently boasts one of the largest blockchain developer pools that has more than tripled in number from 3% in 2018 to 12% in 2023.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy Plans to Raise $21B for Bitcoin Purchases

Michael Saylor, CEO of Strategy, announced the firm’s plans to issue Series A preferred stock with a value of $21 billion to buy more Bitcoin (BTC). Currently, the company owns 499,096 Bitcoins, which are equal to $41.2 billion, which were bought at an average price of $66,423 each.

The 21/21 Plan envisions that up to $42bn will be gathered within the next three years, $21bn of which will be sold stock and the rest will be received from loans or bond issues. Strategy will execute stock sales gradually via an at-the-market (ATM) program to minimize price volatility. The company still aims to accumulate more Bitcoins in its balance sheet.

Strategy Announces $21 Billion $STRK At-The-Market Program $MSTR https://t.co/yTfmDuot3V

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) March 10, 2025

Ripple Secures Regulatory Approval in Dubai for Crypto Payments

Ripple got a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to offer regulated payment services. This license enables Ripple to conduct its business in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) which is a free zone region with its own laws.

Garlinghouse emphasized on good regulation policies of the UAE for cryptocurrencies as one of the strengths. The firm has been operational in the region since the year 2020, with its customer base consisting of 20% based in the Middle East. The approval helps in expanding Ripple’s capacity to meet the needs of various enterprises that demand faster and more secure cross-border payments.

DIFC Authority welcomed Ripple’s expansion and stated that the UAE is interested in developing blockchain technology. The approval also further bolsters Dubai’s status as a global hub for digital assets.

Rumble Acquires 188 BTC Worth $17.1M

Rumble, the firm that offers streaming and cloud services, bought 188 BTC at an average rate of $91,000 per coin. The decision is linked to the firm’s $20 million bitcoin reserve plan. Rumble’s CEO Chris Pavlovski noted that Bitcoin is actually a form of efficient hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.

The acquisition shows Rumble’s intention to consider cryptocurrencies as a part of the company’s financial model. They expressed the need to use digital assets as shields against overprinted money by keeping funds in corporate reserves.

Texas Proposes $250M Bitcoin Investment Bill

The Texas state legislators introduced House Bill 4258 (HB 4258) which seeks to invest $250 million from the state’s economic stabilization fund in Bitcoin. This bill enables the municipal and county governments to invest $10 million in digital assets.

Another bill is Senate Bill 778 which allows the use of Bitcoin to pay taxes and bans the sale of stock for the next five years. While Texas and Arizona are currently spearheading the move to create legislation on the creation of Bitcoin reserves, Utah has backed down in doing so. The proposed law, pending legislative approval, will take effect from September 1, 2025.

The impact of this bill, if enacted, might create similar bills in other states of the United States of America. Government-backed Bitcoin reserves may become a strategic asset class in state-level financial planning.

Binance Kazakhstan Launches New Trading Products

On March 13, 2025, Binance Kazakhstan added new products to its list of services which includes derivatives, futures copy trading and options. These features include Binance Options Trading, a reward-bearing margin asset BFUSD, and the one-click easy futures trading mode.

Binance Kazakhstan had received permission to operate in the country from Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA). The launch makes additional alternatives available to professional as well as retail traders in the region. Futures copy trading enables users to mirror professional traders’ strategies in real-time.

Pakistan Establishes Cryptocurrency Committee

To regulate the blockchain-based economy, the government of Pakistan established the Pakistan Cryptocurrency Commission (PCC). Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is to head this commission.

Pakistan is one of the most active nations in cryptocurrency, with 20 million active users and $20 billion in annual transactions. The initiative is meant to both curb and encourage the use of digital assets in the country’s economy.

Singapore Exchange to Introduce Bitcoin Perpetual Futures

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) aims to start offering Bitcoin perpetual futures contracts in the second half of the year 2025. These contracts will be sold to institutional customers and qualified purchasers having sufficient knowledge of trading. The product will not be available for retail clients.

The move enhances SGX’s offerings portfolio based on cryptocurrency derivatives as the institutional interest in the Bitcoin trading instruments increases. This points out the increased adoption of crypto derivatives in traditional financial markets.

South Korea Plans Institutional Crypto Investment Guidelines

The South Korean government, through the Financial Services Commission (FSC), plans to come up with broad guidelines regarding institutional cryptocurrency investments by Q3 2025. This framework concerns institutional investors, listed companies, and non-profit organizations.

The non-profit organizations and crypto exchanges will get the preliminary guidance by April. The FSC seeks to remove a ban on business crypto transactions that had been in place for eight years to reflect the changing market conditions and increased interest from international business entities.

Mingcheng Group’s Hong Kong Subsidiary Acquires 333 BTC

Mingcheng Group’s Hong Kong subsidiary Lead Benefit (HK) Limited, invested $27 million to purchase 333 BTC at an average price of $81,555 per BTC. Previously, it purchased 500 BTC at $94,375 per BTC, which equaled $47 million.

Mingcheng Group, largely involved in mud and water engineering, invests idle funds in short-term bitcoin trading aiming to benefit from a potential price increase.

MGX Invests $2 Billion in Binance

Binance received its first institutional funding from Abu Dhabi-based MGX which invested $2 billion. This investment is done in stablecoins and helps MGX get a minority investment.

MGX seeks to bring innovation in the fields of AI and blockchain in line with Binance’s industry pioneering. The investment amplifies the firm’s standing as the world’s largest and most secure and regulated exchange with 260 million registered users and over $100 trillion trading volume. This funding cements Binance’s position in the market. The exchange can now build its presence in the global crypto space after receiving support from the regulatory bodies in the UAE.

Garantex Operator Arrested in India

Indian authorities apprehended Aleksej Besciokov, who is considered to be one of the owners and operators of the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex. The charges that were leveled against him included money laundering conspiracy, breach of sanctions, and operating an unlawful money-transmitting business.

Garantex lost its domains and servers and experienced the freezing of $28 million worth of crypto assets. Garantex was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC in 2022 for processing transactions for ransomware gangs and other operations in illicit trade outlets such as the darknet markets.

Authorities continue cracking down on illegal crypto operations. With more regulatory scrutiny, exchanges operating outside compliance frameworks face growing risks of enforcement action.

Ethereum Liquidation Costs Hyperliquid $4M as Trader Gains $1.8M

A trader on Hyperliquid secured a $1.8 million profit after exiting a 50x leveraged Ethereum position worth over $200 million. The trader, using wallet “0xf3f4,” had initially deposited $4.3 million in USDC to open the trade. However, liquidation occurred after withdrawing funds and reducing their margin below the required levels. Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool absorbed a $4 million loss, covering the deficit by purchasing the position at a favorable mark price before selling it at a lower market rate.

Regarding commentary and questions on the 0xf3f4 user's ETH long:

To be clear: There was no protocol exploit or hack.

This user had unrealized PNL, withdrew, which lowered their margin, and was liquidated. They ended with ~$1.8M in PNL. HLP lost ~$4M over the past 24h. HLP's…

— Hyperliquid (@HyperliquidX) March 12, 2025

Hyperliquid denied any exploit, stating the loss stemmed from a margin-based liquidation process. The platform reduced leverage caps to mitigate future risks, setting Bitcoin at 40x and Ethereum at 25x. Despite this setback, the HLP, a community-backed vault, has maintained a $60 million all-time profit. Following the event, Hyperliquid’s HYPE token briefly dipped from $14 to under $13 before recovering.

Crypto Market Overview

Bitcoin Market Analysis

Bitcoin’s volatility has continued over the past week, with its price initially surging to the $90K level and dropping to the $78K level. The sell-off was driven by the outflows from the exchange-traded funds, macro factors, and profit-taking after the recent strong performance. The price rallied near $95K after the U.S. government announced its idea about the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve but could not hold the level and dived below $90K.

Bitcoin’s overall trend is still bearish, but the one-day technical indicators indicate early indications of a turnaround. The MACD line has crossed above the signal line, indicating a change in market dynamics. Moreover, the RSI has recovered from the oversold region, indicating an increasing buying pressure as the selling pressure eases. 

Ethereum Price Analysis

Ethereum’s price continued to be under pressure this week, as it has been showing very aggressive downward momentum. The price dropped from $2,241 to $1,852, with a feeble attempt to sustain at $1,900, which has acted as support but was unable to break through its resistant levels.

According to technical analysis, most indicators have lost steam but could potentially turn around soon. The MACD is increasing, which may suggest a change in trend, and the RSI is 3,5, which is a level that indicates that ETH is close to being oversold. 

Should ETH manage a bullish breakout from the lower trendline, $2,150 will be the initial barrier, then $2,400. However, a breakdown of $1,900 can bring $1,500 into focus as the next level of support.