Bitcoin Falls Below $74,000 as Uptrend Fails to Gain Momentum

Bitcoin price, which briefly surpassed $75,000, has retreated to $74,672.79 in Thursday's US morning trading session, dropping 2% in a short span. This decline follows another failed attempt to break through the stubborn resistance level. As a result, the cryptocurrency dipped to around $73,500 during the US morning session, now down over 1% in the past 24 hours. The move occurred after bitcoin was once again rejected after rising above $75,000. The stock market rally, which had driven the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to record highs the previous day, also experienced a pause, with both indices down approximately 0.1% about an hour into the session. Additionally, crypto-related stocks have pulled back across the board, with Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Robinhood, and Circle all declining roughly 2%-3% in morning trading. Meanwhile, crude oil prices have risen about 2%, reclaiming the $90 level, as ongoing geopolitical tensions continue to fuel supply concerns. The $75,000-$76,000 range is crucial for bitcoin, as it represents the level at which the cryptocurrency traded before the February 5 market crash that sent it plummeting to $60,000. A successful breach of this level could potentially trigger a larger move, driving prices back towards the $90,000 mark at which bitcoin started the year. Notably, the correlation between bitcoin and software stocks, which had been nearly 1:1 prior to the Middle East conflict at the end of February, has been disrupted. While bitcoin has gained over 11% since the conflict began, the software ETF, IGV, has risen by roughly 2%, prompting speculation about a potential decoupling. However, over the past five days, IGV has caught up, surging by as much as 11%, while bitcoin has remained flat. This suggests that rather than a clean decoupling, software stocks may have simply been lagging behind bitcoin and are now rebounding. On Thursday, IGV is up 1%, while bitcoin has declined by 1.5%.