Bitcoin dips below $60K as pre-halving volatility reigns

Ether slipped below $3,000 during Wednesday’s trade

article-image

Vit-Mar/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

The price of bitcoin dipped below $60,000 during Wednesday’s afternoon trade as the crypto market continued to showcase its trademark volatility. 

BTC’s price has hit a local low of $59,658, TradingView data shows, though the price has recovered somewhat to trade around $60,600. 

Bitcoin (BTC) last traded below $60,000 on March 5, an event which occurred before the cryptocurrency surged to new all-time highs in the following days. BTC hit an all-time high of $73,780 on March 13 and has seen continued volatility since that time.

Read more: Bitcoin price surges past $69K to hit new all-time high

Some market-watchers have pointed to macroeconomic factors for the volatility around bitcoin, like persistent inflation in the United States. Traditional equities, too, are in the red today, according to MarketWatch, with the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq trading down as of 12:25 pm ET. 

As Blockworks’ Casey Wagner reported in today’s Empire newsletter, the macro picture is a complicated one — and will likely remain so given that Fed Chair Jerome Powell has indicated that long-signaled rate cuts will take longer than anticipated. 

“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence, and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Powell said Tuesday during a press conference.

Read more: Cryptos slip as Powell doubles-down on delaying rate cuts

The timing of today’s price decline is also notable because bitcoin is set to undergo a transaction reward halving this weekend. The number of new bitcoins produced per block will fall from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The halving is expected to occur late Friday or early Saturday ET, according to estimates. 

Ethereum’s native asset (ETH) accompanied bitcoin in its own brief dip below a key level. According to TradingView, ETH dropped to a local low of $2,914 before recovering somewhat. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at around $2,965.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (1).jpg

Research

As AI supercharges surveillance, privacy becomes a prerequisite and the winning stack will combine confidentiality with selective disclosure. Zcash’s Tachyon, composable standards on Ethereum/Solana, and compliance-aware pools aim to make private rails the new norm.

article-image

US bitcoin ETFs that seen more than $2.2 billion of net inflows over the last four trading days

by Blockworks /
article-image

More than 75 million U.S. Galaxy owners gain integrated Coinbase One access through Samsung Wallet, with global rollout planned

by Blockworks /
article-image

The central bank signed agreements with firms for fraud, payments, and app services ahead of a potential launch

by Blockworks /
article-image

Experts agree that the shutdown will delay new crypto ETF approvals, but lawmakers seem keen to move ahead with legislative work

article-image

The perp DEX verifies matching and liquidations with custom zero-knowledge circuits and keeps user assets on Ethereum

article-image

The derivatives giant will extend futures and options access to round-the-clock trading in early 2026

by Blockworks /