Bitcoin Dips Under $70K as Stocks Tumble on Hawkish Fed Hold—What’s Next?
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic after the Fed’s hawkish stance, expecting a low volatility regime ahead of the quarterly options expiry.
By Akash GirimathEdited by Stephen GravesMar 19, 2026Mar 19, 20262 min read
In brief
- Bitcoin fell over 4% on the day to below $70,000 after the Fed held rates steady at 3.50%-3.75%.
- Two whales sold 5,650 BTC on Wednesday, adding to macro-driven sell pressure.
- Experts see $70,000 to $72,000 as a key support zone, but caution low volatility may persist.
Crypto and stocks plunged following the two-day policy meeting, where the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady.
The Fed's decision to keep rates unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%, combined with escalating Middle East tensions and inflation risks, sent Bitcoin tumbling by over 4% to an intraday low of $69,537, according to CoinGecko data.
The Nikkei, gold, and the S&P 500 fell nearly 3.2%, 3%, and 1%, respectively, in response to the FOMC. Though oil prices spiked by more than 2% initially, the gains were eventually undone, with the asset trading down 1% since the policy meeting.
As a result, investor confidence has taken a hit. That is reflected in prediction market Myriad, owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, where users now assign a 50% chance that Bitcoin rallies to $84,000 next—down from highs of 63% yesterday.
Adding to the macro-driven selling pressure, two Bitcoin whales offloaded 650 and 5,000 BTC Wednesday, totaling over $117 million, according to on-chain intelligence platform Arkham.
Bitcoin's sudden drop from $75,000 to below $70,000 triggered over $511 million in liquidations across the market over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data, $417 million of which were long positions.
Looking ahead, Bitcoin is likely to stay within a contained range, experts told Decrypt.
"The $70,000–$72,000 zone is emerging as an important near-term support, with ETF inflows helping to absorb supply around these levels," Rachel Lin, CEO of decentralized crypto exchange SynFutures, told Decrypt.
Despite sustained Bitcoin ETF inflows totaling over $2 billion over the past four weeks, Adam Chu, chief researcher at options analytics platform GreeksLive, believes Bitcoin could continue to consolidate.
The March 27 expiry, $14.05 billion in notional open interest, is one of the largest open interest concentrations of the year, with clustering around the $74,000 to $75,000 range.
"With the quarterly settlement week approaching, Bitcoin may enter a period of relatively low volatility unless major events occur," Chu told Decrypt.
