Bitcoin Market Crash: $170 Billion Wiped Out in 24 Hours!  Bearish Sentiment Drives Prices Down 4.5%

Market sentiment turned bearish causing Bitcoin price to fall 4.5% to $80,350 as traders wait for US CPI data release this week. Investors lost over $170 billion in just 24 hours because of the crypto market crash, while analysts warn about more difficult times ahead. Bitcoin market crash and its downside volatility might grow if it ends the week under the critical $82,000 support level while investor sentiment stays low after recent US strategic Bitcoin reserve setbacks.

Bitcoin Price Dips as Market Sentiment Turns Bearish

The price of Bitcoin dropped by more than 5% during the last 24 hours, reaching $80,124 before it made a slight recovery to $81,395 at the moment of this writing. The asset experienced extreme volatility during the past two weeks as it moved between $80,000 and $95,000 because of news about trade tariffs and Trump’s strategic Bitcoin reserve announcements from the White House.

The executive order President Donald Trump signed on March 7 introduced a system to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve from government-seized cryptocurrency instead of buying Bitcoin through market transactions.  Trump’s strategic Bitcoin Reserve led to the current Bitcoin market crash this week and analysts predict BTC price may go deeper. 

Graph 1- BTC Price,  published by TradingView, March 10, 2025. 

As Graph 1 clearly displays, crypto markets could see significant volatility if Bitcoin stays below $82,000 for a weekly close. Any Bitcoin correction below this level would result in leveraged long liquidations valued at more than $1.13 billion across all exchanges. 

Market Analysts Predict Further Price Drops!?

As Bitcoin’s price declined, BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer Arthur Hayes predicted on X that BTC would test $78,000 again. According to Hayes in late January, Bitcoin would first drop back to $75,000 before climbing to $250,000 within this cycle. “At least my prediction could be wrong.” He stated at that time that he wanted his prediction to be incorrect. 

A month later, he predicted that Bitcoin would enter a “goblin town” phase, which would cause its value to drop to $70,000 because large hedge funds were selling their ETF positions. Bitcoin dropped to its 2025 minimum on Feb. 28 when it reached the $78,000 zone and currently shows signs of a return to that level.

An ugly start to the week. Looks like $BTC will retest $78k. If it fails, $75k is next in the crosshairs. There are a lot of options OI struck $70-$75k, if we get into that range it will be violent. pic.twitter.com/q4cq0rthGJ

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) March 9, 2025

Bitcoin Liquidation Risks & Technical Indicators

Since the first White House Crypto Summit hosted by Trump on March 7, Bitcoin has struggled to gain substantial price momentum and remains under the $90,000 psychological mark. If Bitcoin remained above the $82,000 support level for the week, it could indicate changing investor sentiment while they evaluate Trump’s strategic Bitcoin reserve plan, which might include “budget-neutral strategies” for additional Bitcoin purchases. Moreover, the United States will publish two major inflation reports this week, which could affect the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy if inflation persists. 

Map1- Bitcoin Exchange Liquidation, published by CoinGlass, March 10, 2025. 

BTC Relative Strength Index

According to the relative strength index (RSI) technical indicator Bitcoin appears to be approaching its local minimum while this index evaluates market overselling or overbuying. The daily chart shows Bitcoin’s RSI level at 28 which indicates that the asset has become oversold. The crypto analyst Rekt Capital revealed in a March 8 X post that whenever Bitcoin’s RSI hit 28 throughout this cycle, the asset’s price would have either reached its bottom level or remained within -2% to -8% from it.

#BTC

Bitcoin's Daily RSI equalled 2022 Bear Market RSI levels (RSI=23.93) when price crashed into the high $70,000s

The only lower Daily RSI in this cycle was back in August 2023 (RSI=18.28)

Throughout this cycle, each visit into sub-25 RSI resulted in a trend reversal to the… pic.twitter.com/78XE65SJFo

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) March 8, 2025

BTC Fear & Greed Index

The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index, which reveals essential information about investors’ bullish or bearish market sentiment through its analysis of Bitcoin sentiment, recorded a reading of 20 on March 10. This sentiment indicates a return to “extreme fear” status, reflecting the recent Bitcoin market crash and heightened investor caution amid concerns over inflation data and broader macroeconomic uncertainties.

Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index is 20. Extreme Fear
Current price: $80,602 pic.twitter.com/f5W1p1kbNE

— Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index (@BitcoinFear) March 10, 2025

What’s Next?

The future of Bitcoin continues to be unpredictable amid investors preparing for increased market volatility. Market movements will be influenced by the Bitcoin market crash along with Trump’s strategic Bitcoin reserve and inflation data. Both traders and analysts will keep a close watch on whether Bitcoin maintains its position above the $82,000 support level in the days ahead.