However, experts warn of the risk of a decline in digital gold following stock markets.

Senior strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, Mike McGlone, confirmed his prediction that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could still plummet to $10,000.

He justified his position by citing macroeconomic pressures and an excess of speculation in the market. With the influx of institutional investors, Bitcoin now moves in sync with traditional assets, losing its status as an independent store of value.

The strategist believes the bearish trend is not over and recommends using local rebounds to lock in profits.

Opposing Views

Other market participants criticized McGlone's forecast. Founder of Quantum Economics, Mati Greenspan, stated that a drop to $10,000 would require a global liquidity crisis or "physical destruction of the internet." He believes Bitcoin structurally hit its market bottom back in 2022.

PrimeXBT analyst Jonathan Randin also deemed McGlone's prediction unlikely. He expects the next major demand zone to form between $30,000 and $40,000. In the short term, Bitcoin will likely continue trading in the $60,000-$70,000 range. A rally to $80,000 is possible but would be temporary under macroeconomic pressures.

Co-founder of AdLunam, Jason Fernandez, suggested that the first cryptocurrency could drop to $28,000. However, this scenario would require significant financial stress rather than just an economic slowdown.

Market Situation

At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency is trading around $70,000. The coin has risen amid a sharp decline in oil prices. Following Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP have also increased in value.

Bitcoin's performance stands out against traditional instruments. The Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indices have remained unchanged during this time, while gold has shown only modest gains. By the end of March, only the digital asset is in the green among these assets.

The coin is also reducing its correlation with tech stocks. Over the past five days, the BlackRock spot ETF (IBIT) rose by 3.75%, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software fund lost 2.45%. Analysts are hopeful for stabilization in the crypto market after a prolonged decline.

Nansen analyst Aureli Barter noted Bitcoin's resilience to geopolitical tensions:

"The asset's sensitivity to negativity has been limited compared to traditional indices like Euro Stoxx."

In her view, this indicates a depletion of selling pressure.

Wintermute trader Brian Tan highlighted a paradigm shift in the relationship between Bitcoin and gold: over the week, their correlation increased from -0.49 to +0.16.

While investors initially moved out of cryptocurrencies in favor of precious metals at the onset of the Middle Eastern conflict, both assets are now rising in tandem amid a weakening dollar. Tan believes that the perception of Bitcoin is changing — it is no longer seen solely as a risky asset to sell during periods of instability.

The rising prices are bolstered by interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Joe Edwards from Enigma pointed out stable investments in IBIT over the past two weeks.

According to SoSoValue, the fund attracted nearly $1 billion in March, following an outflow of over $3 billion from November to February. Edwards believes the phase of fund withdrawals has ended, and if current demand persists, the market will continue to recover in the second quarter.

Impact of Oil Prices

Fluctuations in energy prices and global economic instability could trigger high volatility in Bitcoin. The leading cryptocurrency continues to behave like a risky asset rather than a "safe haven."

Rising oil prices could accelerate global inflation, prompting central banks to delay cuts in key rates.

"Expensive energy raises inflation. Regulators maintain a tight policy, which limits the much-needed liquidity for Bitcoin," said Ripio CEO Sebastián Serrano in an interview with DL News.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission classifies the leading cryptocurrency as a commodity, alongside gold and oil. However, in practice, the asset exhibits a completely different dynamic.

The digital coin correlates with volatile investment instruments — for example, tech stocks.

Kaiko analyst Lawrence Fraussen emphasized that Bitcoin remains a risky asset and reacts sharply to macroeconomic shocks. He added that the narrative of cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation has "long been disproven by the market."

Historically, global crises have pressured the price of the leading cryptocurrency. Experts warn that in the event of a significant decline in stock markets due to economic instability, the crypto market is likely to follow suit.

Recall that in March, Bitfinex analysts identified oil prices as the main driver of Bitcoin's price.