BTC Price Stuck Under $85K: A Consequence Of Trump’s Tariff War?

Bitcoin (BTC) price action was on track to conclude last week on a bearish leg especially a wave of sell pressure on Friday morning, resulting in a brief dip below $85,000.

BTC is still finding its feet under the $83 mark. At the time of writing this report, BTC was trading at $82,451.69, down 0.09% intraday. Over the past seven days, it is down 6.5%.

This sluggishness is the outcome of the escalating tariff wars and FUD around $12.1 Billion worth of Bitcoin option positions that expired on March 28th, 2025.

The particular date marks the last Friday of March. This is important because Bitcoin options usually expire on the last Friday of every month.

The Bitcoin options reportedly had a 0.49 call/put ratio. A ratio below 1 is considered bullish, but the market has turned out bearish, likely due to the uncertainty around the event.

After the options expired, BTC reacted as expected. On March 28th, BTC closed its red candle at $84,379, on the following day, it closed at $82,608.

BTC Price Dip May Signal a Reaction to Tariff Wars

Trump’s tariff wars have been causing negative sentiment among risk-on asset investors. Last week was characterized by a surge in tariff-related announcements and reactions.

Bitcoin’s bearish performance is arguably one of the reasons contributing to BTC’s bearish outcome.

According to recent market data, the tariff wars recently resulted in flight to safety among investors, leading to higher gold prices.

This is because gold is one of the most popular safe haven assets across the globe.

This bearish outcome may also be a sign of what to expect in the first week on April.

The consequent market uncertainty if economic temperatures remain high may continue to dampen investor sentiment.

Bitcoin is Yet to Show Potential For Resurgence

BTC price was down to $82,451.69 at press time, likely because the subsequent wave of sell pressure forced BTC to extend its dip.

The latest bearish outcome also brought Bitcoin price action back down to its opening price for much. This means it risks closing the month in the red.

Many analysts anticipate a bullish start in April. However, those expectations may be thwarted if investor sentiment remains dampened.

The bearish market reaction in the last 24 hours triggered a surge in long liquidations which were up over $100 Million.

Despite this, the level of leverage liquidations was still nowhere near the daily liquidations observed in late February and early March.

A potentially major reason why the latest liquidations were low could be the decline in leveraged positions before March 28th.

Bitcoin estimated leverage ratio | Source: CryptoQuant

The estimated leverage ratio dipped from 0.26 to 0.25 between March 24th and 27th. It was also notably lower this time, compared to the highs observed in February.

This could signal that the leverage shake-down is declining.

This outcome could signal that the leverage squeeze may be running low on juice.

Investors are now on the look-out for the return of strong spot demand which could be the first major sign of a strong recovery.