Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Falls Below $69K as $14B Options Expiry and Iran War Uncertainty Pressure Markets

TLDR

• Bitcoin fell roughly 3% to around $68,500 on Friday, marking a 2.7% weekly decline
• A $14 billion Bitcoin options expiry on Friday has traders on edge, with max pain set near $75,000
• The Crypto Fear & Greed Index sits at 13, deep in “extreme fear” territory
• Large Bitcoin holders (whales and sharks) accumulated 61,568 BTC over the past month
• Bitcoin ETFs have seen $2.5 billion in net inflows over the past month despite the price drop

Bitcoin dropped about 3% to $68,507 on Friday, continuing a rough week shaped by ongoing uncertainty around the Iran conflict and a looming $14 billion options expiry.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price

The decline followed a now-familiar pattern for the fifth consecutive week. President Trump extended his Iran ceasefire deadline by 10 days, which briefly pushed prices up and crude oil down. Then the Wall Street Journal reported the Pentagon was considering sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East, erasing the relief.

Brent crude dipped 1.3% to $106 before the news hit. The broader crypto market shed nearly 1%, bringing total market cap to $2.4 trillion.

Ether fell 4.6% to $2,050. Solana dropped 5.3% to $85.93. XRP lost 2.8% to $1.36, down 6.5% on the week. Tron was the only major in the green, up 1.2% on the day.

$14 Billion Options Expiry in Focus

Around $14 billion in Bitcoin options are set to expire Friday on the Deribit exchange. Bloomberg set the maximum pain level near $75,000, the price at which the most options expire worthless.

After the expiry, near-term hedging activity in crypto markets is expected to drop, leaving Bitcoin more exposed to price swings tied to Middle East developments.

Bitcoin has struggled to break above $75,000 since the conflict began nearly a month ago. The token is down roughly 50% from its late-2025 record high of around $126,000.

$BTC has formed another bear flag.

A daily close below the $66,000 level could push Bitcoin to new lows. pic.twitter.com/2qUBoYtxTq

— Ted (@TedPillows) March 26, 2026

Asian equities also fell 0.6% Friday. South Korean tech stocks led losses, with Samsung and SK Hynix pulling the KOSPI down 2.3%.

Whales Accumulating Despite the Dip

Large Bitcoin holders are buying. Whales and sharks — defined as wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC — increased holdings by 0.45% over the past month, adding 61,568 BTC total, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment.

🐳📈 Despite dipping to $68.1K today, Bitcoin’s key stakeholders are accumulating. Whales and sharks with 10-10K $BTC have accumulated 61,568 BTC (+0.45%) in the past month, which is a promising sign of an eventual breakout from this range.

🤑 Besides the current macroeconomic… pic.twitter.com/YDbRYNYH85

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 26, 2026

Wallets holding under 0.01 BTC added 213 BTC over the same period, a 0.42% increase.

Dominick John, analyst at Zeus Research, said whales are “quietly stacking during consolidation periods” ahead of a potential breakout. He noted that if retail FOMO overheats, a brief pause or sell-off could come before the next accumulation phase.

Bitcoin ETFs added $2.5 billion in net inflows over the past month, per Bloomberg. BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF ranked in the top 2% of all ETFs by inflows year-to-date.

BlackRock noted this week that large investors are concentrating in bitcoin and ether while avoiding the broader altcoin market.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index scored 13 on Friday, in “extreme fear” territory, consistent with readings throughout February and the prior week.

The next key date is early April, when Trump’s extended Iran ceasefire deadline expires.