Over the past few days, the price of Bitcoin has achieved one of its best performances so far in the first quarter of 2026. As geopolitical tensions between the US, Israel and Iran escalate, the leading cryptocurrency reached $74,000 over the past week.
However, the price of Bitcoin soon after retreated from the psychological level of $70,000, confirming that the recent rally was just a relief. With the bearish structure of the market still in place, it remains to be seen how far the price of BTC will fall at its current stage.
70 million dollars in long term risk of liquidation
In a new post on social media platform X, crypto analyst Ali Martinez revealed why a further drop to around $54,000 is possible for the remainder of this phase and could be bad news for investors and the price of Bitcoin. Therefore, the $54,000 mark could be an extremely important area for the flagship cryptocurrency in this bear market.
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Martinez’s assessment revolves around a set of heatmap liquidation metrics that visualize price areas with a high concentration of long or short liquidation. As expected, the red (hot) color on the map represents a concentrated liquidation point of several highly leveraged positions, often with high liquidity.
A drop to $54,000 could wipe out more than $70 million worth of Bitcoin $BTC long positions. pic.twitter.com/Ar66Q3Cd20
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) March 7, 2026
These points of high liquidity often have a magnetic effect and prices are often attracted to them. According to Martinez, this “hot” zone for the price of Bitcoin is around $54,000, and more than $70 million in long positions are at risk of liquidation.
Typically, Bitcoin’s fall to around $54,000 will add further damage to the already bearish market sentiment. Meanwhile, from a technical point of view, a significant liquidation cascade, which is likely to occur at that level, could lead to a phenomenon called “Long Draw”, in which the flagship cryptocurrency continues its decline at a new pace.
For clarity, a long squeeze usually occurs when a drop in the price of a cryptocurrency (in this case, Bitcoin) forces bullish traders to sell their assets or cut losses or even break even. This sell-off catalyzes a continuing bearish reaction and sends the price of BTC further down.
Ultimately, the $54,000 area, which is also around the strike price, looks to be one of the most important levels for Bitcoin’s price trajectory over the next few months.
Bitcoin price at a glance
As of this writing, the price of BTC is around $67,830, reflecting a decline of more than 4% in the last 24 hours. After reaching its one-month high of about $74,000 on Wednesday, March 4, the prime minister’s cryptocurrency fell by about 10%.
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Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
