Bitcoin fell beneath the $67,000 level on Friday, marking its weakest point since early March as market pressure intensified.
The decline came amid rising geopolitical concerns tied to United States activity in the Middle East and a major derivatives expiry event.
Market data showed bitcoin touching an intraday low of $66,201 before slightly recovering to around $66,700.
The recent drop erased most of the gains the asset had built during the first three weeks of March.
Traders pointed to uncertainty surrounding Washington’s shifting stance on potential conflict involving Iran as a key driver of sentiment.
President Donald Trump’s decision to extend a ten-day pause on possible strikes failed to trigger the expected market relief.
Investors appeared unconvinced by the delay, with risk appetite weakening instead of improving.
A significant factor weighing on price action was the expiry of roughly $14.16 billion in bitcoin options on Deribit.
This quarterly expiry represented close to 40% of the exchange’s total open interest, making it one of the largest settlements in recent periods.
Data from Greeks.live indicated that the “max pain” level for these contracts sat near $75,000.
This level reflects the price at which the majority of options expire without value, often influencing short-term market behaviour.
With bitcoin trading well below this point, institutional hedging activity likely added downward pressure on the asset.
Analysts noted that such conditions tend to suppress volatility while keeping prices constrained within a narrow range.
In contrast, equity markets across Europe and Asia showed limited reaction, with most indices holding steady.
Germany’s DAX stood out as the only major index to record losses exceeding 1% during the session.
The muted response in traditional markets highlighted a growing divergence between crypto and equities.
The sell-off triggered heavy liquidations, with around $115 million in long positions wiped out within four hours.
Over a full day, total bitcoin liquidations climbed to approximately $169 million, reflecting sustained selling pressure.
Across the broader crypto market, nearly $400 million in long positions were erased as cascading liquidations spread.
Bitcoin’s market capitalisation dropped to $1.33 trillion, dragging the overall crypto market value down to about $2.37 trillion.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price $66,463.99.