Bitcoin traded near $66,000 on Tuesday, roughly half its October 2025 peak of $126,000, as a combination of geopolitical shock and fading momentum kept the broader crypto market under pressure [1].

The slide accelerated in early March when oil prices surged nearly 20 percent following the outbreak of the Iran war, dragging Bitcoin below $66,000 on March 8 [2]. A brief recovery toward $70,000 followed, but the bounce faded. A $14 billion options expiry on March 28 added further selling pressure, pushing the price back to the $66,000 support level [3].

Analysts at CryptoRank noted that the $66,000 level represents both a technical and psychological floor. A break below could open a path toward $62,000, where weak momentum indicators suggest further vulnerability [4]. Others are more optimistic: CoinCodex analysts projected a potential recovery to $78,567 by April 8 if the support holds [5].

The decline marks a sharp reversal from the euphoria of late 2025, when institutional inflows and ETF enthusiasm pushed Bitcoin to record highs. Since January, the token has lost roughly 47 percent of its peak value, with Ethereum following a similar trajectory below $2,000.

Trading volumes have thinned, and the crypto market's correlation with traditional risk assets has tightened. Bitcoin now moves largely in step with equities, undermining its narrative as a safe haven.

For bulls, the question is whether $66,000 holds. For everyone else, the rally is already over.

-- Theo Kaplan, New York