Bitcoin recovers following $100 billion tariff fluctuations, yet $60,000 options price target suggests increased risk.

Bitcoin’s selloff over the weekend resulted in approximately $100 billion in losses in the cryptocurrency market value during the reporting period, spurred by an unexpected surge of uncertainty regarding tariff policies.

In the past 24 hours, the price of BTC fell below $65,000, dragging the wider crypto market down alongside it. As of the time of reporting, the leading digital asset had bounced back above $66,000, according to data from CryptoSlate.

Significantly, liquidations intensified the movement. Data from CoinGlass indicated that over $500 million in crypto positions were eliminated during the fluctuation, with the largest single liquidation recorded on HTX’s BTC-USDT pair at approximately $61.51 million.

Crypto Market Liquidation (Source: CoinGlass)

These losses illustrate the kind of forced unwinding that can transform a macro headline into a rapid, self-reinforcing movement within the crypto space.

Consequently, the sentiment in the crypto market also deteriorated. According to data from Alphractal, the crypto Fear and Greed Index dropped to 5, categorized as “Extreme Fear,” a level not observed since 2019.

Whether traders interpret this as a contrarian indicator or a cautionary signal, it aligned with the trend as investors prioritized de-risking before seeking clarity.

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A court ruling triggered a chain reaction, followed by another shift in policy

The immediate catalyst for this market downturn was political and legal in nature.

On Feb. 20, the US Supreme Court invalidated a significant portion of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Reuters subsequently reported that US Customs and Border Protection announced it would cease the collection of those IEEPA tariffs at 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 24, more than three days post-ruling, while also failing to provide immediate guidance on refunds.

This alone would have been sufficient to create confusion. Instead, the White House acted swiftly to replace the invalidated tariffs with a new framework.

On Feb. 20, President Donald Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and implemented a 10% ad valorem temporary import surcharge for 150 days, effective Feb. 24. He later adjusted the figures to 15%.

He stated on Truth Social:

“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been “ripping” the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level. During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again.”

This sequence is significant for crypto because the concern was not solely about the tariff rate. It was also about the speed and unpredictability of the changes.

Markets had to digest a court ruling, a delayed agency implementation, a new executive workaround, and then a higher rate, all within the same news cycle.

For a market that operates continuously and employs leverage extensively, this constitutes a volatility event.

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The real macro transmission was uncertainty, not just tariffs

The selloff in the crypto market occurred within a macro environment that was already precarious.

The US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index on FRED recorded 706.97 for Feb. 19, a significant increase that reflected how rapidly policy noise had transformed into a tradable macro factor.

The separate FRED categorical Trade Policy Uncertainty index was already high at 3,027.14433 in December 2025.

In essence, crypto was not impacted from a stable baseline. It was affected in an environment that was already set for disorderly repricing.

Additionally, there is a second layer to the shock, stemming from the fiscal and balance-sheet implications created by the court ruling.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated that reversing the IEEPA tariffs could result in up to $175 billion in refunds.

It also indicated that IEEPA receipts had been averaging about $500 million per day under the existing tariff schedule.

These figures are substantial enough to influence Treasury cash flow assumptions, importer balance sheets, and, consequently, the risk premium that investors demand in leveraged or cyclical assets.

This creates a direct channel into crypto. When macro uncertainty escalates, investors reduce leverage, limit optional risk, and shift towards liquidity.

Crypto experiences this swiftly because it is often the first market where positioning is light enough to adjust and liquid enough to exit.

Meanwhile, the tariff narrative does not necessarily translate into a straightforward inflation unwind.

US banking giant Goldman Sachs reportedly advised consumers not to anticipate a rapid decline in prices even after tariffs are lifted, as companies typically raise prices more quickly than they reduce them.

Goldman estimated that tariff passthrough had increased core PCE by approximately 0.7% through January, with only about 0.1% additional impact expected for the remainder of 2026.

This reinforces the notion that the primary market variables here are uncertainty and margin pressure, rather than an immediate inflation surge.

Cross-asset signals aligned with this interpretation. Reports on the tariff reversal and replacement indicated a weakening dollar and rising gold prices while BTC declined.

This is a familiar trend when investors gravitate towards traditional defensive assets and view crypto as a risk asset rather than a safe haven.

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Trade policy continuity, not clarity, kept risk appetite under pressure

If the Supreme Court ruling was intended to stabilize markets, the subsequent developments had the opposite effect.

Reuters reported that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that countries with existing trade agreements were not withdrawing and that the administration would uphold policy continuity while also reconstructing its trade strategy through other legal mechanisms, including Section 301 and Section 232.

He also mentioned that Trump raised the temporary tariff to 15% due to the “urgency of the situation.”

This stance helped maintain tariff policy, but it did not alleviate uncertainty.

The European Commission responded by demanding “full clarity” from Washington and asserting that “a deal is a deal,” after Trump transitioned from the court setback to a temporary 10% tariff and then to 15% within a single day.

Reuters also noted that the EU’s comparative advantage seems to have diminished because countries without a deal may now face the same 15% headline rate.

For markets, this presents a dilemma. Policy continuity exists, but clarity is lacking.

And in the absence of clarity, capital tends to shorten duration and mitigate risk. This is how crypto traded over the weekend.

Bitcoin is now back at levels where positioning can accelerate the next move

Within the crypto space, the macro shock impacted a market that was already technically sensitive.

According to CryptoSlate data, $65,000 was already a crucial support level for the leading cryptocurrency, with a breach below potentially accelerating the decline towards $60,000. However, a rebound could help shift the sentiment and push the flagship asset above $70,000.

Additionally, the market had witnessed an uptick in options hedging and downside protection clustered around $60,000, which can make that level more significant if spot prices weaken again.

This setup clarifies why the weekend movement felt more pronounced than the headline alone. Tariff uncertainty impacted macro sentiment, compelling liquidations to hasten the decline, and the market settled near levels where options positioning can begin to influence short-term price movements.

Thus, the next phase will likely hinge less on another tariff headline and more on whether the policy trajectory becomes clearer over the next 150 days.

A grinding base case is plausible, with a temporary surcharge in effect, ongoing legal and administrative noise, and crypto remaining within a broad, volatile range. A relief rally is also feasible if refund guidance improves and the market starts to believe there are tangible limits around the tariff regime.

However, the risk scenario remains the one macro traders will monitor most closely, a transition from temporary surcharge politics into a broader, prolonged trade conflict that intensifies risk-off positioning across assets.

For crypto, the signal to observe is not merely one green candle. It is whether policy volatility stays elevated and whether investors continue to regard digital assets as the first to cut when macro noise escalates.

The post Bitcoin rebounds after $100B tariff whiplash — but $60k options price target hints at bigger risk appeared first on CryptoSlate.