Bitcoin has slipped into a sideways phase as market participants weigh uncertainty that extends beyond macro factors to U.S. politics. BTC remains stuck below the $70,500–$71,000 area with support near $68,000, while analysts on X point to a coming "pivot" on the 25th and a key retest of the 200-week EMA.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed more than 4% on March 23, 2026 after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran had held talks and he ordered a five-day postponement of strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. BTC moved from around $68,250 to above $71,000, while Ethereum (ETH) rose from about $2,050 to $2,180, a gain of more than 6%. The broader crypto market cap was up 2.4% on Monday at the time of writing.

Bitcoin climbed above $71,600 at the US market open and briefly traded over $71,700, but spot activity on Binance stayed unusually weak. Analysts flagged March Binance spot volume near $52 billion versus $88 billion in September 2023, while the rally coincided with heavy short liquidations and falling futures open interest.

Bitcoin slid from above $70,000 to as low as $67,360 amid renewed Middle East tensions, then rebounded to around $68,000. Even with more than $240 million in liquidations, attention has shifted toward Bitcoin-focused infrastructure plays, including Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER), which says its presale has topped $32 million.

Bitcoin's weekly close on Sunday stayed below the 200-week EMA, a setup several traders said could extend downside in the weeks or months ahead. BTC/USD later traded near $71,190 after an intraday low of $67,300, while multiple analyses cited sub-$60K risk and a bear-flag target around $46,600.

CoinShares reported that institutional crypto products recorded $230 million of net inflows over the week, following a burst to $635 million in the first two days. After the FOMC meeting, flows swung to $405 million of outflows before easing by Friday, while Bitcoin led with $219 million and Ethereum posted $27.5 million in outflows.

On March 23, 2026, Jim Cramer said market momentum had shifted to bulls as Bitcoin reversed sharply and pushed above $71,000. The move set off a broad short squeeze, with liquidations reaching $810.75 million over 24 hours and more than $300 million in BTC shorts in four hours. Bitcoin and Ethereum instruments each accounted for roughly $253 million in liquidations.

Bitcoin miner selling pressure has cooled, as miner-to-Binance BTC transfers have fallen back to levels last seen in mid-2023. The monthly average is about 4,316 BTC to Binance and 4,381 BTC across all exchanges, suggesting the slowdown is broad rather than venue-specific. BTC was trading at $68,553 at press time.