Here’s why bitcoin’s drop below $68,000 raises the risk of a crash under $60,000

The negative gamma zone below $68,000 can trigger a self-reinforcing sell-off, leading to an ever larger slump.

What to know:

• Bitcoin has slipped about 2% to $67,000 amid renewed geopolitical tensions, but options positioning suggests the market’s structure is unusually fragile.
• Heavy demand for downside protection in Deribit-listed put options between $68,000 and the mid-$50,000s has created a “negative gamma” zone that can force dealers to sell more bitcoin as prices fall.
• A sustained break below $68,000 could trigger a self-reinforcing wave of hedging-driven selling, potentially pushing bitcoin well below $60,000 if thin holiday liquidity fails to absorb the pressure.

President Donald Trump's renewed aggressive posturing toward Iran has pushed bitcoin lower by roughly 2% over the past 24 hours to $67,000. While this price action is consistent with routine volatility, beneath the surface, market structure looks fragile.

This is mainly due to flows in the Deribit-listed options market, specifically, a build-up of defensive positioning just below current prices that could result in a slide all the way down to $50,000.

A fragile setup below $68,000

In recent weeks, traders have been loading up on put options offering downside protection. These defensive flows have been concentrated in put options at strike levels $68,000 and lower, all the way down to mid-$55,000s. This is understandable, given the macroeconomic risks from the Iran war, quantum threats and the brutal bear market that began late last year.

However, when this kind of positioning builds, it creates what savvy traders call a "negative gamma" zone – a setup where market makers or dealers who add liquidity to an exchange's order book are forced to react to price moves in ways that end up accelerating the prevailing trend, which is bearish in this case.

These kinds of dynamics have amplified both bullish and bearish trends in the past.

The Glassnode chart shows that dealer gamma exposure is mostly negative from $68,000 to $50,000. This is the result of being on the opposite end of traders' long put positions.

In other words, dealers are holding short put positions. So, as the market drops below $68,000, they face losses and are likely to short BTC to hedge their exposure.

This hedging can push prices even lower, creating a feedback loop, which can accelerate quickly.

That's why the latest drop below the $68,000 level becomes critical. The break below that threshold doesn’t just signal technical weakness — it opens the door to a zone where forced selling could intensify.

"Negative gamma is now building just below current price levels, from $68K all the way down to the high 50s," Glassnode said in its weekly report.

"A move into this zone could trigger accelerated selling as hedging flows reinforce downside momentum, turning what would otherwise be a gradual move into a sharper repricing, with a potential revisit of the $60k level, the bottom of the February 5 selloff," the firm added.

With liquidity still relatively thin following the March 27 options expiry, and likely to remain thin over the Easter holidays, there may not be enough buyers to absorb that pressure.

So, if the feedback loop fully kicks in, the decline could extend well below $60,000.

This setup shows that while bitcoin is currently reacting to war headlines, the market's inner workings can also shape its trajectory.

If prices hold above $68,000, the current setup may unwind without much damage. But a sustained break below that level could flip the market into a regime where selling feeds on itself, turning a routine dip into a much deeper move.

More For You

Most crypto privacy models weaken as blockchain data grows. Encryption-based models like Zcash strengthen. CoinDesk Research maps the five privacy approaches and examines the widening gap.

Why it matters:

As blockchain adoption scales, the metadata available to machine learning models scales with it. Obfuscation-based privacy approaches are structurally degrading as a result. This report provides a comprehensive comparison of all five major crypto privacy architectures and a framework for evaluating which models remain durable as AI capabilities improve.

Más para ti

In the middle of a surge higher following President Trump's overnight comments, the price of WTI crude oil quickly fell nearly $6 per barrel on the news.

Lo que debes saber:

• Reports Thursday that Iran is working with Oman on a protocol to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have risk markets quickly erasing large early losses.
• Iranian officials said the proposed measures are meant to coordinate and ensure safe passage rather than restrict it.
• Sharply higher following President Trump's...

CFTC sues Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut over states' sports prediction market efforts

2 hours ago

Coinbase wins initial bank regulator nod for trust charter, boosting custody push

2 hours ago

Elon Musk's X to deploy scam kill switch by auto-locking first-time crypto mentioners

hace 3 horas

How a Solana feature designed for convenience let attackers drain more than $270 million from Drift

hace 3 horas

Bitcoin trims big loss, stocks erase 2% decline, as Iran signals cooperation on key shipping route

hace 3 horas

Crypto for Advisors: Crypto custody’s evolution

hace 4 horas

North Koreans hackers likely behind $286 million Drift Protocol exploit: Elliptic

hace 4 horas

The 'time pain' trap: why bitcoin’s bear market might need a few more months of ‘boring’ to hit a true floor

hace 5 horas

Coinbase’s AI payments system joins Linux Foundation, gathers support from Google, Stripe, AWS and others

hace 6 horas

SoFi announces 24/7 banking hub that blends traditional cash with crypto

hace 7 horas

The bitcoin treasury boom is unwinding as some companies and governments sell holdings

hace 9 horas

Solana DeFi platform Drift confirms 'active attack' as more than $200 million leaves platform

1 abr 2026