Bitcoin Slides Toward $60,000 As Tariffs Deepen Risk Aversion

Bitcoin Extends February Slide As Macro Fear Bites

Bitcoin traded around $63,150 early Tuesday, February 24, after falling as low as $62,701, leaving the token down more than 19% for the month and on course for its steepest monthly drop since June 2022.

The current run also puts the market on track for a fifth straight monthly decline, the longest losing streak since 2018, a pattern that undercuts near-term momentum and keeps risk premia elevated across crypto-linked assets.

Tariffs Add A Fresh Shock To Cross-Asset Pricing

The selloff has accelerated alongside broader risk-off positioning after President Donald Trump said he plans to raise global tariffs to 15%, a step that has unsettled investors and weighed on higher-beta exposures. In practice, tariffs can lift input costs and squeeze margins, raising the odds of slower growth outcomes that typically hit leveraged trades first.

For macro-sensitive desks, crypto has continued to behave less like a defensive store of value and more like a high-volatility risk asset, especially when policy headlines drive abrupt shifts in global sentiment.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Outflows Reinforce The Downtrend

Flow data has turned into a near-term transmission channel. US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $200 million of net outflows on Monday, a reversal that matters because ETF creations and redemptions can translate into direct spot buying or selling by authorized participants.

When outflows persist for multiple sessions, liquidity providers typically widen spreads and reduce balance sheet usage, which can amplify intraday moves and pressure crypto-related equities that trade as proxies for the underlying token.

Deribit Put Demand Stays Heavy As Hedging Costs Rise

Options positioning points to defensive demand, with downside insurance running at roughly twice the volume of bullish bets in Deribit data. That imbalance tends to steepen the cost of protection, raising implied volatility and reinforcing reflexive selling when prices break support levels.

Higher implied vol can also spill into systematic strategies, prompting some funds to cut exposure as volatility targets are breached, which can accelerate declines even without a single new catalyst.

Miner Breakeven Cost Pressure Adds Supply To The Market

The miner channel is another stress point. Estimates cited by market participants place the average all-in miner breakeven cost near $80,000 per coin, well above current prices, which can force net selling to fund operating expenses and debt service.

Bitdeer Technologies was cited as having liquidated all of its Bitcoin holdings, an example of how balance sheet behavior can change when margins compress. If more miners follow with reserve sales, spot supply can remain elevated into March, extending the monthly drawdown.

$60,000 Becomes The Near-Term Line As Long-Term Trend Looms

Price action has pushed technical reference points back into focus. Traders have flagged $60,000 as the next major support area after Bitcoin nearly tested that level earlier in February, with the longer-term 200-week moving average near $58,503.

Tony Sycamore at IG said a break beneath the $58,000–$60,000 zone would increase the probability of a deeper pullback, while holding above longer-term trend measures can help stabilize positioning after sharp drawdowns.

Post-2022 Legal Overhang Still Hits Confidence

Events from the 2022 crypto collapse remain part of the market backdrop. A court-appointed administrator for Terraform Labs, the entity behind the TerraUSD stablecoin, filed a lawsuit against Jane Street Group, alleging trading conduct that accelerated the project’s demise; the firm rejected the claims. The renewed focus on past failures can keep institutional risk limits tight, even as the market is driven by newer macro headlines.

Market Channels: Stock Correlations, Rates, FX, And Volatility

In equities, Bitcoin weakness can pressure crypto-exposed names, including miners, exchanges, and chip and data-center plays that often move with risk appetite. That link matters because stock positioning can feed back into crypto via hedging flows and de-leveraging, particularly when volatility rises.

In rates, tariff headlines can push investors to reprice the path of inflation and the policy rate, while a simultaneous growth scare can support demand for duration. That two-way move can tighten financial conditions, lifting the hurdle rate for speculative assets and raising funding costs for leveraged strategies in both crypto and credit.

In foreign exchange, risk aversion often favors traditional havens, while higher volatility can drain liquidity from smaller markets and elevate hedging costs for cross-border flows tied to crypto venues.

Base Case, Upside Scenario, Downside Scenario

Base case: Bitcoin holds above the 200-week moving average and stabilizes into month-end, with ETF flows swinging closer to flat and options pricing normalizing. The trigger would be a cooling in tariff-driven risk sentiment and a reduction in miner selling pressure.

Upside scenario: a rebound develops if spot Bitcoin ETF outflows reverse into sustained inflows and macro conditions improve, including clearer policy guidance on trade that reduces volatility. The trigger would be multiple sessions of positive creations alongside price regaining prior support levels.

Downside scenario: a decisive break below $60,000, paired with persistent Deribit put demand and additional miner capitulation, drives forced liquidations and broadens stress into crypto-related stocks. The trigger would be accelerating redemptions from spot products and slippage through the $58,000–$60,000 support area.