Bitcoin is trading around $70,300 as markets head into one of the more consequential options expiries of recent months.
Key Takeaways
$1.7B in Bitcoin options expire today, with max pain near $70,000
Short-term holders continue selling at a loss – over 28,000 BTC sent to exchanges
Crypto shows relative resilience as gold and equities decline under geopolitical pressure
Liquidations hit $93.85M in 24 hours, with longs taking the bigger hit
Roughly 23,000 contracts worth approximately $1.7 billion in notional value are set to close on Deribit today, and the market is feeling it. Price has been grinding sideways through the morning session, unwilling to commit to a direction – which is exactly what you’d expect when this much derivative exposure is about to settle.
The put-call ratio of 0.96 tells a story of unusual balance. Neither bears nor bulls have a commanding position in the options market right now, which makes the $70,000 “max pain” level all the more significant. Max pain refers to the price at which the greatest number of options contracts expire worthless – and therefore where market makers face the least payout obligation. Historically, Bitcoin has shown a tendency to gravitate toward this level in the hours surrounding expiry. At current prices, it’s already sitting right on top of it.
On-Chain Data: The Flush Isn’t Over
While price action looks relatively contained on the surface, what’s happening underneath is less reassuring. On-chain analyst Darkfost flagged Friday morning that the purge of short-term holders – those who bought Bitcoin within the last few months – is still ongoing. These investors continue to realize significant losses, particularly during each successive price dip.
The purge of short-term holders is not over yet.
—> They continue to realize significant losses, particularly during each decline in Bitcoin’s price.
? In recent days, their losses have slightly accelerated, with more than 28,000 BTC sent to exchanges at a loss.
For now,… pic.twitter.com/Bc8H8i65zU
— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) March 20, 2026
In recent days, more than 28,000 BTC have been sent to exchanges at a loss, with that figure slightly accelerating over the past week. Sending Bitcoin to an exchange at a loss typically signals capitulation – a holder deciding the pain of waiting is worse than locking in the loss. When this behavior clusters and intensifies, it often precedes a market bottom. But “often” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. There is no confirmation yet that the selling pressure has exhausted itself, and Darkfost’s read is blunt: emotions are still driving the bus for this cohort of investors.
A Key Metric Is Approaching a Critical Zone
Separate analysis from Alphractal adds another layer of concern. The firm’s Realized Cap Impulse indicator – which measures momentum within Bitcoin’s realized capitalization, essentially tracking how aggressively capital is flowing in or out of the network – is closing in on what they describe as a critical threshold.
The short-term version of the metric has historically functioned as a dynamic support and resistance line around zero. When it oscillates above, conditions tend to favor buyers. When it drops below, sellers typically take control.
Right now, it is approaching that zero line from above. The long-term version of the same indicator carries an even heavier implication: every time it has turned negative in Bitcoin’s history, it has marked the mid-phase of a major bear market. It hasn’t crossed into negative territory yet, but the proximity is worth monitoring closely.
Liquidations and Leverage: Bulls Got Caught
The liquidation data from CoinGlass for the past 24 hours adds further texture to the market’s current condition. Total Bitcoin liquidations came in at $93.85 million, with long positions accounting for $54.94 million of that figure versus $38.91 million on the short side.
The imbalance suggests that leveraged buyers were positioned for a move higher that never materialized. When longs dominate liquidation figures during a sideways or declining market, it typically reflects an overcrowded trade getting unwound – not a sign of aggressive short-selling pressure, but of bulls simply being wrong-footed.
Crypto Holds While Traditional Markets Buckle
Perhaps the most notable development of the past 24 hours has nothing to do with Bitcoin’s own metrics. Geopolitical tensions surrounding the Iran conflict have rattled traditional financial markets. Gold, which typically catches safe-haven flows during periods of global instability, pulled back sharply. Equities declined across the board. Bitcoin, by contrast, is down less than 0.2% over the same period and has largely absorbed the macro pressure without breaking down structurally.
That relative resilience is meaningful, though it should be interpreted carefully. It may reflect genuine maturation of crypto as an asset class – one that no longer moves in lockstep with risk sentiment in the way it once did. Alternatively, it could simply mean the selling hasn’t arrived yet. The next leg of the macro story will help clarify which interpretation is correct.
What Comes Next
With today’s options expiry now the immediate focus, the hours ahead will likely set the tone for the remainder of the week. If Bitcoin can hold above $70,000 through settlement and close the day without a significant breakdown, it would suggest the market has absorbed both the derivative pressure and the macro headwinds reasonably well. A failure to hold that level, combined with continued short-term holder capitulation and a deteriorating Realized Cap Impulse reading, would paint a more concerning picture.
The data right now doesn’t point cleanly in either direction. What it does suggest is that this is not a market to be complacent in – regardless of which side of the trade you’re on.
