NEW YORK, March 24, 2026, 13:54 EDT
Bitcoin slid back under $69,000 on Tuesday, erasing nearly all of its earlier jump past $71,000. As the crypto retreated, shares of Coinbase and Strategy also slipped. By early afternoon in New York, bitcoin was changing hands at $68,970—down 2.8% from the previous close after peaking at $71,313 earlier. Ether dropped 1.9%. Coinbase tumbled 11.3%, with Strategy off 2.7%.
The reversal drove home the point: bitcoin is still behaving much like a risk asset, not a geopolitical haven. When investors grow more cautious, it drops—when they’re feeling bold, it climbs. Monday’s bounce followed President Donald Trump’s five-day pause on planned Iranian power plant strikes. But sentiment faded. Tehran refused talks with Washington, and oil pushed back above $100 a barrel on Tuesday.
Crypto tracked the wider market’s swings. U.S. stocks surged Monday, notching their sharpest single-day jump since Feb. 6 after Trump weighed in, but Tuesday saw directionless trading as investors reconsidered the likelihood of any genuine de-escalation.
Strategy picked up 1,031 more bitcoin for roughly $76.6 million, according to a Monday filing, pushing its stash to 762,099. In a separate document, the company outlined intentions to sell as much as $21 billion in additional Class A shares—continuing a playbook that’s turned the stock into a go-to proxy for bitcoin trading.
Bernstein thinks bitcoin could be bottoming out. “We believe Bitcoin has found its trough and is now heading higher,” analyst Gautam Chhugani said Tuesday. The firm pointed to growing ETF and corporate balance sheet influence over who owns the token. ETFs, of course, let people trade bitcoin exposure on stock exchanges—no need to actually own the cryptocurrency. Yahoo Finance
Citi’s approach has leaned cautious. Last week, strategist Alex Saunders noted, “Regulatory catalysts will drive further adoption and flows but the window of opportunity for U.S. legislation this year is narrowing.” He flagged $70,000 as a key price point, since that’s about where bitcoin traded before the U.S. election. Reuters
The downside is tough to ignore. Macquarie sees Brent crude potentially spiking to $150 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through April. Over at Morning Bid, there’s no sign of Fed rate cuts being priced in for 2026 anymore, a set-up that could pressure riskier bets like crypto. “The reality on the ground is unchanged,” said Nikos Tzabouras, analyst at Jefferies-owned Tradu.com. Reuters
Bitcoin’s stuck for now—caught between oil and rates weighing it down, and institutions putting a floor underneath. After crude prices crashed and equities shot up on Monday, the cryptocurrency rallied sharply; but with oil bouncing back Tuesday and diplomatic hopes fading, bitcoin slipped again, dipping below a threshold traders still insist is crucial for the market.
