Bitcoin price was in a very tight range between $76,000 and $77,000 on Monday, registering a change of just -0.05% at $76,797.74, while the broader crypto market collapsed under Iranian geopolitical pressure.
According to Coinglass data, more than $300 million in crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, with long traders absorbing the majority of these losses. The catalyst was brutal: President Trump posted on Truth Social that he had ordered U.S. troops to prepare for a “full-scale attack” on Iran if an acceptable deal was not reached, after delaying a planned strike on Tuesday at the request of Gulf leaders.
BREAKING: President Trump says he canceled U.S. meeting "Military attack" on Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow after the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates called him and asked him to "wait."
Trump asked the US military to "be ready to move forward with a… pic.twitter.com/OQbBYuEP5u
– Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 18, 2026
The central question now is whether Bitcoin can maintain its current support zone or whether the next step down is already loading.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has slipped into “extreme fear” territory, a reading that historically marks either a floor of capitulation or the start of a deeper context of disruption, which is extremely important here.
Bitcoin trading volume jumped 30% over the previous 24 hours, which appears bullish on the surface, but in a sideways market it usually signals indecision rather than conviction.
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Can Bitcoin Price Hold $76,500 Amid Iranian News, Or Is a Drop to $65,900 Next?
The current structure of Bitcoin is fragile but not yet broken. The $76,000 to $77,000 range has become the battleground, with CryptoQuant analysts identifying $65,900 to $70,500 as the projected range for the bottom of this cycle, using the Bitcoin HODL Waves indicator, a tool that maps how long different groups of holders have been sitting on their coins to identify market peaks and troughs.
“If $70,500 holds, we will slowly reach a bottom in the upper range. If it breaks, we will have to reevaluate the lower support structures,” said the CryptoQuant analyst. Separately, market commentators have warned that a daily close below $75,000 could accelerate the advance toward $60,000, suggesting that the next few thousand dollars of declines will carry outsized psychological weight.
Read the Bitcoin Bottom via HODL Waves
“Our predicted price range for the bottom of this cycle is between $65.9k and $70.5k. If $70.5k holds, we will slowly bottom at the upper range.” – By Sunny Mom
Complete analysis
pic.twitter.com/bUebkCmoRw
– CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) May 18, 2026
On-chain data provides a counterpoint to the bearish band. On-chain analytics firm Santiment noted that wallets holding at least 100 BTC increased 11.2% year-over-year, from 18,191 to 20,229 wallets, each representing at least $7.7 million in holdings at current prices.
“Historically, the increase in the number of whale wallets is seen as a sign that key stakeholders still have confidence in the future value and scarcity of Bitcoin,” Santiment said. This isn’t a price catalyst per se, but it does suggest that the smart money cohort is accumulating into weakness rather than disappearing.
If Bitcoin defends $75,000 at the daily close, open interest resolves higher and a de-escalation of the situation in Iran triggers a relief bounce towards $82,000 – 85,000.
However, a break below $70,500 invalidates the current cycle bottom thesis and opens the door to CryptoQuant’s lower target of $65,900, likely triggered by either further escalation in Iran or a broader wave of risk aversion hitting stocks.
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The post Trump Just Ordered Troops to Prepare a Full Assault on Iran, and Bitcoin Clings to $76,000 appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
