The Bears Regain Control: Bitcoin’s Bull Flag Breaks

A bearish session across all risk-on assets—S&P 500 down 2%, Nasdaq off 2.67%, Bitcoin dropping 3.3%, Ethereum shedding over 5%, and most altcoins losing 10% or more.

Bitcoin began the day just a few hundred dollars shy of $88K, seemingly on the verge of breaking out and confirming the bull flag formation. But by 4pm, over $120 million in liquidations had swept through the market in just an hour, sending BTC tumbling to $83.5K during the US session—its lowest level since the bulls took control. The initial drop wasn’t news-driven but rather a reflection of shifting sentiment. Fear began to creep in, and bulls started to lose their grip. The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index plummeted from 44 yesterday to 26 today—a sharp drop, teetering back toward ‘extreme fear’.

Shortly after the damage was done, headlines emerged: Trump is set to announce new pharmaceutical tariffs, further fuelling uncertainty ahead of next week's reciprocal tariffs going live.

In contrast, gold has continued its safe-haven surge—printing yet another all-time high and rapidly approaching $3,100 USD as investors seek shelter.

Next week could be the most volatile of the year so far.

Stormrake Spotlight: Ripple (XRP) ($2.21)

XRP has broken below a key structural level, erasing the short-term bullish setup formed over recent weeks. With a 5.74% drop in the last 24 hours, XRP has printed a lower low, confirming a bearish shift. Now trading below all CPR levels, with both the 21 and 55 EMA in a bearish posture, the path of least resistance appears to be a retest of the range lows.

While this near-term structure is bearish, long-term conviction holders may view this as a compelling dollar-cost averaging opportunity. If market sentiment recovers, these levels could offer substantial long-term upside.

BTC/USD Key Levels and Price Action:

Bitcoin's bull flag has failed decisively. Price has broken below the lower trendline of the channel and is now trading under all major moving averages, erasing a week’s worth of gains.

Back under the key $85.2K level, bears have regained control. If this pressure continues, BTC could revisit $81.6K—its next significant support.

BTC Total ETF Flows for 28 Mar: $ - 93.2 million

*All prices are denominated in USD unless stated otherwise*

Written by Alexandar Artis

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