Bitcoin dropped under $69K even as the SEC and CFTC create more clarity for crypto, and agentic commerce looks like it will reshape the sector. 
---
Thank you to our sponsor, <a href="http://multichainadv.com">MultiChain Advisors</a>
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Bitcoin dropped under $69K after the Fed, ECB, and Bank of England all held rates steady this week, while Australia hiked. Kaiko's Laurens Fraussen joins to explain what's actually happening beneath the surface, from collapsing liquidity to a quiet geographic shift in who's buying.
He also makes the case that agentic commerce could reshape how crypto payments work entirely and we break down why the market mostly shrugged at the latest crypto guidance from the SEC and CFTC.

Host:
<ul>
 <li>
<a href="https://x.com/Steven_Ehrlich">⁠⁠⁠⁠</a><a href="https://x.com/Steven_Ehrlich">⁠Steven Ehrlich⁠</a>, Host of Bits + Bips: The Interview</li>
</ul>
Guest:
<ul>
 <li>
<a href="https://x.com/Baehr">⁠</a><a href="https://x.com/ProofOfLaurens">Laurens Fraussen</a>, Research Analyst at Kaiko</li>
</ul>
Links:

Bitcoin, Markets, and the Iran Conflict
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-20/bitcoin-holding-at-70-000-as-iran-war-stokes-inflation-concerns">Bitcoin Holding at $70,000 as Iran War Stokes Inflation Concerns</a> — Bloomberg
<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/14/bitcoin-sold-off-first-when-the-u-s-iran-war-began-two-weeks-later-it-s-outperforming-nearly-everything">These 3 Charts Show Bitcoin’s War-Linked Selloff Keeps Shrinking as Iran Conflict Worsens</a> — CoinDesk
<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/18/bitcoin-hash-rate-is-tumbling-as-iran-war-lifts-energy-prices">What Bitcoin’s Falling Hash Rate Might Mean for Prices</a> — CoinDesk
<a href="https://www.dlnews.com/articles/markets/bitcoin-price-is-down-again-following-iran-war-escalation/">What’s Next for Bitcoin Price Amid Iran War and Oil Prices Surge</a> — DL News
Central bank rate decisions
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/fed-interest-rate-decision-march-2026.html">Fed Interest Rate Decision March 2026: Holds Rates Steady</a> — CNBC
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/fed-meeting-today-live-updates.html">Fed Meeting Recap: Powell Says Inflation Isn’t Coming Down as Much as ‘Hoped’</a> — CNBC
<a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy-summary-and-minutes/2026/march-2026">Bank Rate Maintained at 3.75%, March 2026</a> — Bank of England
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/19/ecb-boe-swiss-national-bank-riksbank-interest-rate-decisions.html">ECB, BOE, Swiss National Bank, Riksbank Interest Rate Decisions</a> — CNBC
<a href="https://www.centralbanking.com/central-banks/monetary-policy/monetary-policy-decisions/7975422/ecb-holds-rates-predicts-26-inflation-for-2026">ECB Holds Rates, Predicts 2.6% Inflation for 2026</a> — Central Banking
SEC/CFTC Interpretive Guidance
<a href="https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026-30-sec-clarifies-application-federal-securities-laws-crypto-assets">SEC Clarifies the Application of Federal Securities Laws to Crypto Assets</a> — SEC.gov
<a href="https://www.freewritings.law/2026/03/joint-interpretation-from-the-sec-and-cftc-on-certain-types-of-crypto-assets-and-certain-transactions-involving-crypto-assets/">Joint Interpretation From the SEC and CFTC on Certain Types of Crypto Assets</a> — Free Writings & Perspectives
<a href="https://www.fintechweekly.com/news/sec-bitcoin-ether-solana-digital-commodities-not-securities-march-2026">SEC Names Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and 13 More Crypto Assets Digital Commodities</a> — FinTech Weekly
Agentic Commerce and Payments
<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/03/18/stripe-led-payments-blockchain-tempo-goes-live-with-protocol-for-ai-agents">Stripe-Led Payments Blockchain Tempo Goes Live With AI Agent Protocol</a> — CoinDesk
<a href="https://crypto.news/stripe-and-paradigms-tempo-mainnet-goes-live-for-machine-payments/">Stripe and Paradigm’s Tempo Mainnet Goes Live for Machine Payments</a> — Crypto.news
<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/11/coinbase-backed-ai-payments-protocol-wants-to-fix-micropayment-but-demand-is-just-not-there-yet">Coinbase-Backed AI Payments Protocol Wants to Fix Micropayments but Demand Is Just Not There Yet</a> — CoinDesk
<a href="https://www.coinbase.com/developer-platform/discover/launches/google_x402">Google Agentic Payments Protocol + x402: Agents Can Now Actually Pay Each Other</a> — Coinbase
<a href="https://www.pymnts.com/google/2026/google-debuts-universal-protocol-for-agentic-commerce/">Google Debuts ‘Universal’ Protocol for Agentic Commerce</a> — PYMNTS
<a href="https://www.coinbase.com/blog/coinbase-and-cloudflare-will-launch-x402-foundation">Coinbase and Cloudflare Will Launch the x402 Foundation</a> — Coinbase
<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/03/17/sam-altman-s-world-teams-up-with-coinbase-to-prove-there-is-a-real-person-behind-every-ai-transaction">World Launches AgentKit With Coinbase-Backed x402 to Verify Human Identity Behind AI Agents</a> — CoinDesk
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