BTC slides under $66K as markets await Department of War statement
Cryptocurrency investors who purchased at $68,000 now face losses as crude oil maintains triple-digit pricing before War Secretary Pete Hegseth's scheduled announcement.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin (BTC) flirted with a renewed decline beneath the $66,000 threshold following a rebound that created a textbook bull trap scenario.
Key points:
- A textbook bull trap emerges for Bitcoin following a surge past the $68,000 mark.
- Among multiple warning signals for BTC price movement is a negative Coinbase Premium indicator.
- Prior to Wall Street's opening bell, markets anticipate a press briefing from US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Bitcoin reverses its most recent upward momentum
According to TradingView data, BTC price movement returned to targeting nearby support levels following a short-lived surge beyond $68,000 that occurred after the daily candle close.
Through examination of the spot-market cumulative volume delta (CVD), the X analytics profile JDK Analysis issued a warning that recent purchasers were now holding losing positions.
"Price bounced earlier, driven by aggressive new long positions attempting to capture a rebound, only to become trapped at elevated levels once more," the account stated.
"Spot selling (real supply), while longs keep opening (adding fuel). If anything, that's a bull trap."
Filbfilb, an independent market analyst, highlighted weak demand from the United States, evidenced by a negative Coinbase Premium, as additional justification for a cautious outlook.
According to Cointelegraph's previous coverage, the Coinbase Premium calculates the price differential between Coinbase's BTC/USD trading pair and Binance's BTC/USDT pair. Based on information from onchain analytics provider CryptoQuant, this metric has registered positive values only during brief intervals since October 2025.
Market participants increasingly anticipate BTC price decline
Throughout the trading session, geopolitical concerns remained the primary driver of market sentiment, with the US Department of War set to conduct a press briefing scheduled for 8 am Eastern time.
This announcement arrived amid persistent uncertainty regarding oil supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
WTI crude oil prices rose above $106 as the week began — marking its highest level since March 9 — before experiencing a modest pullback.
As equity markets remained in a state of uncertainty, cryptocurrency trader Michaël Van de Poppe suggested that it would be "probably better to ask 'when' instead of 'if' we're going to see the price of Bitcoin fall."
"Every upward bounce appears to be consistently pushed back down," he posted on X, aligning with Filbfilb's assessment.
"Trend is also still downwards, so I would suggest that early April we'll be sweeping the lows to get that liquidity going and return back upwards after that."
