On March 18, the price of Bitcoin fell below $72,000, dropping nearly 4% in a day. The escalation of conflict in the Middle East triggered a sharp rise in oil prices, heightening inflation concerns.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $71,300. The previous day, the digital gold tested the $75,000 mark, its highest level since early February.
Following Bitcoin's lead, the entire market declined. Ethereum's price dropped by 7%, Solana fell by 5.8%, and XRP lost 4.3%.
In the past 24 hours, liquidation volume reached $389 million, with the majority ($335 million) attributed to long positions.
Market Overview
The cryptocurrency market's decline followed a new escalation in the conflict involving Iran, the U.S., and Israel. U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at further escalation, while Western media largely dismissed the possibility of diplomatic resolution.
Washington and Jerusalem have launched massive strikes on Tehran's energy infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, equipment at the South Pars gas field has been damaged.
In this context, Brent crude oil approached $110 per barrel, surging nearly 5% in a day. WTI rose by 2.2% to $97.7.
Additional pressure on digital asset prices came from a PPI report in the U.S. for February. The overall index increased by 0.7%, more than double the forecast (0.3%) and January's figure (0.5%).
The core PPI rose by 0.5% against an expected 0.3%, although it slightly slowed from 0.8% the previous month. These figures do not account for the strikes on Iran and the subsequent spike in oil prices.
New data makes it even less likely that the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy. The next FOMC meeting is scheduled for March 18, and investors believe the regulator will keep rates unchanged.
Currently, most market participants do not expect any changes until at least September.
“Markets have sharply reduced expectations for policy easing—high oil prices complicate the path to rate cuts, even amid worsening growth and employment data. For cryptocurrencies, this means one thing: the interest rate environment is becoming tighter, not more favorable,” noted analysts at QCP.
How does the Fed's rate affect cryptocurrency prices?
What’s Next?
Joao Wedson, founder of Alphractal, believes that if Bitcoin fails to hold the $69,000-$70,000 range, it could drop below $60,000 soon. To avoid this scenario, Bitcoin needs to rise above $78,000.
GM!
— Joao Wedson (@joao_wedson) March 18, 2026
Am I right?
If so, BTC can’t drop below $69K~$70K because, unfortunately, I have to say there may soon be a high chance of seeing it below $60K. But it needs to somehow move above $78K to break this expectation.
Some things seem almost timed, and I’ve been noticing this… https://t.co/weekgtsKdS
Another analyst, known as CW, noted the liquidation of high-leverage long positions and warned of a potential drop to $71,000.
High-leverage long positions on $BTC are being liquidated.
— CW (@CW8900) March 18, 2026
You should be prepared for a drop to around 71k. https://t.co/MkEBhmBBNr pic.twitter.com/z4Dl4zASDx
Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Trading, linked the correction to the macroeconomic calendar and the upcoming FOMC meeting today.
#Bitcoin correcting.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) March 18, 2026
This could be due to the upcoming macroeconomic week with the FOMC Meeting tonight.
Very likely to be risk-off going into that one given that oil has skyrocketed.
Regardless, I think that it's simply rejecting on a resistance and therefore looking for a… pic.twitter.com/HzglfGNHZL
The expert views the downturn as a temporary "pullback from resistance" and expects the first cryptocurrency to rise to $76,000-$80,000 by the end of the month.
Additionally, CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost noted the return of Bitcoin buyers to leading exchanges.