Bitcoin hovered around $70,300 on March 20, 2026 as roughly 23,000 Deribit options contracts—about $1.7 billion notional—headed into expiry with “max pain” near $70,000. Over the past 24 hours, liquidations totaled $93.85 million, led by $54.94 million in longs, while on-chain data showed more than 28,000 BTC moved to exchanges at a loss amid ongoing short-term holder selling.

Bitcoin's BTC/gold ratio is sitting near historical lows after a 14-month decline, while weekly RSI has rebounded from an oversold 21 and MACD is nearing a bullish cross. Traders are watching whether BTC can keep the $68,000-$70,000 support zone; analysts say losing key weekly levels could raise the risk of a deeper pullback.

On March 17, the SEC and CFTC published a 68-page guidance that for the first time classifies most crypto assets as non-securities, naming 16 tokens—including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP—as digital commodities. Despite the regulatory clarity, Bitcoin fell to $69,370 as macro pressure, stalled U.S. legislation, and reported whale selling weighed on sentiment.

Galaxy Digital research analyst Will Owens said Thursday that quantum computing poses a real risk to Bitcoin holders, but most wallets are not currently exposed. He argued funds are mainly at risk only when a wallet's public key is revealed on-chain, either because it is already visible or because it becomes visible when spending.

On Thursday, BTQ Technologies released Bitcoin Quantum testnet v0.3.0, delivering the first working implementation of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 360 (BIP 360). The test network lets developers, miners, and researchers trial quantum-resistant transaction flows end to end, as BTC traded at $69,534, down 3% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing.

Bitcoin slid sharply from above $73,000, dropping through $72,500, $72,000 and $71,500 before forming a low at $68,782. BTC has since stabilized and is consolidating below $72,000 and the 100-hour simple moving average, with nearby resistance levels cited at $71,500 and $72,400. Key supports highlighted include $69,650 and $69,000, while a move above $72,400 is framed as the next hurdle for an upside attempt.

On Wednesday, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped back into "Extreme Fear" even as traders turned upbeat after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 3.5–3.75%. Bitcoin was trading around $70,150 at the time of the decision, down more than 4% over the prior 24 hours. Social-media optimism jumped sharply, but the sentiment gauge continued to signal stress across the market.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $69,000 on Thursday, returning to a six-week range after recently trading above $76,000. Data cited in the report shows heavier selling in perpetual futures than spot, while funding turned positive at 0.05% and bids clustered near $70,000. Analysts outlined upside targets near $72,000–$76,000 if price reclaims $70,000, but warned a break under $68,300 could shift attention to $65,000 and $62,000.