Bitcoin BTC$63,709.23 fell back below $66,000 Friday in the early U.S. session as mounting macro risks are spooking investors away from risky assets.
The largest crypto now has erased most of Wednesday’s surge, plunging 3% from around $68,000 in the past few hours to $65,600 in the morning hours. The braod-market CoinDesk 20 Index was 2.3% lower in the past 24 hours, with ether (ETH), XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL) down similar amounts.
Crypto-related stocks also followed the move, giving up part of the gains earlier this week. Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, slipped 3%, while Coinbase (COIN) was more than 2% lower. Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL), declined almost 5%%, snapping its rebound that saw the stock gaining nearly 50% in a couple of sessions.
Miners, increasingly linked to AI infrastructure buildout, performed even worse, with IREN (IREN), Cipher Mining (CIFR), Core Scientific (CORZ) and TeraWulf (WULF) losing 6%-8%.
The action occurred as U.S. equity indexes fell, with the Nasdaq down 0.8% and the S&P 500 lower by 0.6%.
In the backdrop, there was a mix of risks for investors to get concerned about.
A hotter-than-expected Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation reading for last month spooked those who hoped for a continuation in the cooling inflation trend. In January, core PPI rose 3.6% year over year, above the 3.0% estimate, and up from 3.3% previously. Markets are now pricing in a 96% chance of no rate cut for the March 18 Federal Reserve meeting.
Concerns about stress in the credit markets also linger, with credit spreads at their widest in four months. Private equity firms KKR (KKR), Ares (ARES) and Apollo Global Management (APO) plunged 6%-7% to fresh lows during the session.
On top of that, prediction market odds of U.S. strikes against Iran rose this morning after the U.S. has begun evacuating embassy staff from Israel.
Money flows to safe-havens
In fixed income, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield has slipped below 4% for the first time since November 2024. Precious metals continue to rally, with gold up 1% to above $5,230 an ounce, while silver has surged 4% to trade back above $92. Meanwhile, crude oil jumped 2.3% to above $67 a barrel.
Bitcoin’s upside looks capped with prices likely remain rangebound given the risk-off mood, Paul Howard, director at trading firm Wincent said. Following the February options expiry, traders are position for BTC to remain below $72,000-$74,000 with support at around $54,000 through March, he added.
“A cautious approach still appears warranted, particularly given that March has historically been a weaker month for crypto majors,” Howard said.
Context
Current positioning around Bitcoin News remains sensitive to primary-source updates, policy interpretation, and execution risk across major venues.
What To Watch
Key confirmation signals include sustained spot demand, funding stability, and whether price can hold reclaimed levels after headline-driven volatility.
If momentum weakens, traders will likely prioritize downside liquidity zones and risk-control positioning before adding new directional exposure.
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