Start now →

Bitcoin stays calm while other markets panic: key levels to watch

By Omkar Godbole · Published March 9, 2026 · 8 min read · Source: CoinDesk
Bitcoin
Crypto Daybook AmericasShare this articleX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail

Bitcoin stays calm while other markets panic: key levels to watch

Your day-ahead look for March 9, 2026

By Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon Reback Mar 9, 2026, 11:24 a.m. GoogleMake us preferred on Google
Oil rig operating during the sunset (Maria Lupan/Unsplash)
The price of oil surges as Iran war disrupts supplies; bitcoin held steady. (Maria Lupan/Unsplash modified by CoinDesk)

What to know:

If you're not already subscribed to the newsletter email, click here.

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Bitcoin BTC$67,707.48 and the broader crypto market stayed resilient Monday as an oil price surge above $100 shook Asian markets and triggered a drop in U.S. stock futures. The crypto calm may be shattered if bitcoin moves outside the $60,000- $75,000 range, data on major market participants' positions suggests.

It's solidly within that range at the moment, though. The leading cryptocurrency by market value has risen over 3% since early Asian hours to trade around $68,000. The rally follows a week of back-and-forth action that saw the price rise to nearly $74,000 only to drop back to $67,000 over the weekend. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), solana (SOL) saw similar increases.

This resilience to the war in the Middle East and risk-off sentiment in global stocks likely stems from the earlier outperformance of U.S. equities and the cryptocurrency's oversold status. Nothing reflects the crypto calm better than BTC's 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, which remains steady around 60%. Wall Street's volatility indexes, meantime, the equity VIX, the oil VIX and the gold VIX have all surged to multiweek highs, indicating panic in traditional markets.

Bitcoin market makers — those entities tasked with creating order book liquidity and ensuring seamless trading — are "short gamma" at $60,000 and $75,000. This means that if the market moves beyond those levels, they could trade in the direction of the price movement to rebalance their net exposure back to neutral. In other words, they may sell BTC as its price drops and buy when it rises, accentuating volatility.

"If we look at the Deribit GEX (gamma exposure chart) we see dealers are short a lot of gamma at the $60k level and the $75k levels … essentially the ceiling and floor of the box. Should markets actually trade beyond the box, negative gamma will make things worse from a dealer rebalancing perspective," Amberdata's Director of Derivatives Greg Magadini said in an email.

He added that traders are looking at the same levels and have hedged their own exposure at the ceiling and floor. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today

What to Watch

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".

Token Events

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".

Conferences

For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".

Market Movements

CD20 compoennts

Bitcoin Stats

Technical Analysis

Daily swings in bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, in candlestick format. (TradingView)
Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV. (TradingView)

Crypto Equities

Crypto Treasury Companies

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs

Spot ETH ETFs

Source: Farside Investors

While You Were Sleeping

Crypto Daybook Americas

More For You

Pudgy Penguins: Challenging the Pokemon and Disney Legacy in the Global IP Race

By CoinDesk ResearchFeb 27, 2026  logoCommissioned byPudgy Penguins
basic

CoinDesk Research looks into how Pudgy Penguins disrupts traditional toys market via a phygital model. With 2M+ units sold, they scale via global partnerships and events.

What to know:

View Full Report

More For You

Bitcoin hit by short-termism as rally fades ahead of U.S. jobs data

By Francisco Rodrigues|Edited by Sheldon RebackMar 6, 2026The Iranian flag flutters above a cityscape. (Shutterstock)

Your day-ahead look for March 6, 2026

What to know:

If you're not already subscribed to the newsletter email, click here.

Read full storyLatest Crypto News Skyline of the Iranian capital, Tehran

Bitcoin is beating stocks and gold as the Middle East conflict rattles global markets

23 minutes ago
Nasdaq sign on a building

Nasdaq and Kraken are teaming up to let you trade tokenized stocks

44 minutes ago
Wooden block tiles spell out the word "inflation"

U.S. inflation, Polkadot upgrade, Solstice-Kamino announcement: Crypto Week Ahead

1 hour ago
Map of Iran. (Tudoran Andrei/Shutterstock)

Bitcoin rises as oil spikes, equities drop

1 hour ago
Nigel Farage (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

Nigel Farage takes 6% stake in UK bitcoin treasury firm Stack BTC

2 hours ago
J. Christopher Giancarlo, Former Chairman, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Clarity Act will benefit banks more than crypto, former CFTC chair says

3 hours ago
Top Storieslists of market prices and percentage changest (geralt/Pixabay)

U.S. isn’t really exposed to oil shocks and that might be helping bitcoin stay resilient

5 hours ago
Shipping vessel at sea (Getty Images/Unsplash+/Modified by CoinDesk)

Oil pulls back from 25% spike as G7 discusses emergency reserve release

4 hours ago
Cryptocurrencies have stabilized for now, but analysts are mulling a further downside. (Unsplash)

Bitcoin could face deeper downside as odds of U.S. market meltdown rise to 35%

6 hours ago
U.S. President Donald Trump  (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Trump's cyber strategy vows to 'support the security' of cryptocurrencies and blockchain

Mar 7, 2026
(CoinDesk)

Bitcoin dip may not be over as whales sell into retail buying — a bearish signal

Mar 8, 2026

In this article

BTCBTCBTC$67,707.480.29%
This article was originally published on CoinDesk and is republished here under RSS syndication for informational purposes. All rights and intellectual property remain with the original author. If you are the author and wish to have this article removed, please contact us at [email protected].

NexaPay — Accept Card Payments, Receive Crypto

No KYC · Instant Settlement · Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Get Started →