Bitcoin slips below $72,000 as oil jumps

Bitcoin falls below $72,000 as oil surges and inflation fears intensify.

On 18 March the price of the leading cryptocurrency slipped below $72,000, down nearly 4% on the day. Escalation in the Middle East sent oil prices sharply higher, intensifying inflation worries.

At the time of writing bitcoin trades around $71,300. A day earlier the digital gold tested $75,000, the highest since early February.

The broader market followed. Ethereum fell 7%, Solana dropped 5.8%, and XRP lost 4.3%.

Liquidations over the past 24 hours reached $389m, most of it ($335m) from long positions.

Backdrop 

The sell-off followed a further turn in the confrontation between Iran, the United States and Israel. US president Donald Trump hinted at further escalation. Western media outlets all but rule out a diplomatic settlement.

Washington and Jerusalem carried out heavy strikes on Tehran’s fuel-and-energy infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, equipment at the South Pars oil-and-gas field was damaged.

Against this backdrop Brent neared $110 a barrel, jumping nearly 5% on the day. WTI rose 2.2% to $97.7.

Additional pressure came from the US February report on the PPI. The headline index rose 0.7%—more than twice the forecast (0.3%) and above January’s 0.5%.

Core PPI increased 0.5% versus 0.3% expected, though it slowed slightly from 0.8% a month earlier. The figures do not reflect the strikes on Iran or the subsequent jump in oil prices.

The new data make monetary easing by the Fed even less likely. The next meeting of the FOMC is scheduled for 18 March. Investors are confident the central bank will leave rates within the current range.

Most market participants now expect no change at least until September.

“Markets have sharply reduced expectations of policy easing—expensive oil complicates the path to rate cuts, even despite worsening growth and employment data. For cryptocurrencies this means one thing: the rate backdrop is not becoming more favourable, but tighter,” — noted QCP analysts. 

What next? 

Joao Wedson, founder of Alphractal, thinks that if the $69,000–70,000 area gives way, a drop below $60,000 is likely soon. To invalidate this, bitcoin needs to move above $78,000.

GM!
Am I right?

If so, BTC can’t drop below $69K~$70K because, unfortunately, I have to say there may soon be a high chance of seeing it below $60K. But it needs to somehow move above $78K to break this expectation.

Some things seem almost timed, and I’ve been noticing this… https://t.co/weekgtsKdS

— Joao Wedson (@joao_wedson) March 18, 2026

An analyst known as CW observed liquidations of high‑leverage long positions and warned of a dip to $71,000.

High-leverage long positions on $BTC are being liquidated.

You should be prepared for a drop to around 71k. https://t.co/MkEBhmBBNr pic.twitter.com/z4Dl4zASDx

— CW (@CW8900) March 18, 2026

Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Trading, linked the pullback to the macro calendar and tonight’s FOMC meeting.

#Bitcoin correcting.

This could be due to the upcoming macroeconomic week with the FOMC Meeting tonight.

Very likely to be risk-off going into that one given that oil has skyrocketed.

Regardless, I think that it’s simply rejecting on a resistance and therefore looking for a… pic.twitter.com/HzglfGNHZL

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) March 18, 2026

He views the setback as a temporary “rejection at resistance”. He expects the leading cryptocurrency to rise to $76,000–80,000 by month-end.

Earlier, the CryptoQuant analyst known as Darkfost pointed to the return of bitcoin buyers to leading exchanges.