Geopolitics Fail to Break Bitcoin: Analyst Eyes $80K Upside Ahead

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading just above the $70,000 level today, brushing off weeks of geopolitical turbulence tied to the conflict pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran to post gains of about 4% in the last 24 hours.

Now, analyst Markus Thielen is arguing that the flagship cryptocurrency’s refusal to crumble under that pressure is itself a bullish signal, which makes a return to the $70,000 to $80,000 range more likely.

BTC Has Absorbed the Pressure

In his March 10 daily chart note for Matrixport, Thielen pointed out that since early February, BTC has mostly traded sideways, despite facing headwinds such as weaker U.S. employment figures, a sell-off in Korean equities, and a significant rise in oil prices over the weekend.

He noted that Bitcoin only retraced toward the $66,000 level, eventually finding support, even as oil prices briefly jumped to $120 over fears of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz.

The sentiment has found backing from the broader news cycle, with reports emerging on March 9 that U.S. President Donald Trump had said that the war was “very complete, pretty much.” Oil prices dropped back below $90 per barrel shortly after his remarks, with gold touching $5,140 per ounce and the S&P 500 climbing above 6,800.

Bitcoin wasn’t left behind either, jumping to around $69,600 before settling near $69,000 that day. Its current CoinGecko data shows a 24-hour range of about $67,000 to $71,200, with the asset now just above $70,500.

The price is up 3% from its level 7 days ago and more than 10% over 2 weeks. However, BTC is still down about 15% year-on-year and sits over 44% below its October 2025 all-time high when it passed $126,000.

Deleveraged Market Prepares the Stage for a Move Higher

One reason analysts are closely watching the current structure is because of the significant deleveraging that has taken place. As we previously covered, CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost noted that since February, Bitcoin’s Estimated Leverage Ratio on Binance fell from 0.198 to 0.152, as the OG crypto dropped from $96,000 to around $69,000.

According to the market technician, lower leverage usually means less systemic pressure, which can help stabilize price action before the market enters a new directional phase.

Interestingly, the cleaner leverage profile seems to be pairing with a futures market leaning heavily on shorts. Per data from Binance Research, open interest has gone up some 18% since late February, returning from under $30 billion, while funding rates have stayed low to negative.

That combination means a large share of current open interest is from short positions, and if BTC moves higher, forced short covering could add velocity to any rally.

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