Bitcoin tumbles as oil and gas prices spike and the market’s mood turns risk-off

Bitcoin fell below $70,000, down 4.3% in the past 24 hours, as oil and gas prices spiked following strikes on energy facilities in the Middle East, renewing inflation fears and sparking a risk-off sentiment in the market. Crypto liquidations reached $544.86 million in the past 24 hours, CoinGlass data shows, with bitcoin seeing $192 million in liquidations and the bulk of them — over $168 million — in long positions.

Bitcoin ETFs reverted to outflows, seeing a $163.52 million exodus on Wednesday, following seven consecutive days of inflows, the longest positive streak since early October, according to SoSoValue.

Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, told Sherwood News that bitcoin’s pullback is largely tied to the latest geopolitical escalation, but more importantly, to the macro chain reaction it triggered.

“The strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, followed by disruption to Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG facility, marks a shift toward targeting core energy infrastructure, pushing Brent above $115 and gas prices sharply higher,” Kan said.

Kan said that for bitcoin, the impact flows through inflation expectations: higher energy costs reinforce a higher-for-longer Fed outlook, delay rate cuts, and tighten liquidity.

“What’s notable is that both bitcoin and gold fell simultaneously, suggesting this wasn’t a rotation into safe havens but a broader risk-off move, with investors reducing exposure across asset classes amid rising uncertainty and margin pressures,” Kan said.

Pratik Kala, portfolio manager and head of research at Apollo Crypto, told Sherwood that while he expected a cool-off after so many days up, “this is bigger than expected.”

“Geopolitical risks are mainly tampering, and macro risk sentiment is also impacting bitcoin. No clear answer that led to the dump other than general risk-off sentiment as war is escalating,” Kala said, adding that $67,000 is a strong support. “We should be sticky there.”

In the near term, Bitget’s Kan said that bitcoin is likely to remain range-bound as macro conditions dominate and as the stagflationary backdrop is historically challenging for risk assets to break out.

“Technically, the $70K–$71K range has become a critical pivot; holding it keeps the structure intact, but failure could open a move toward the low $60Ks. More broadly, bitcoin is likely to trade within a $65K–$74K range until there are clearer signs of geopolitical de-escalation or easing inflation pressures,” Kan said.

That said, Kan added that unlike prior cycles, institutional demand, particularly tied to long-term allocation and debasement trade narratives, continues to provide a structural floor, suggesting downside may be more contained even as macro headwinds persist.

Dean Chen, a Bitunix analyst, echoed the sentiment, telling Sherwood that the $71,000 to $72,000 structural pivot has been lost.

“Passive long absorption is emerging around $69K–$70K; and $67.5K marks a prior accumulation zone and a potential secondary sweep area. The current pullback is essentially a rebalancing following high-level liquidity release, with the key focus on whether the $69K region can transition from ‘passive absorption’ to ‘active demand,’” Chen said.