Bitcoin Faces Resistance at $80,000, Analyst Sees Temporary Pullback

Bitcoin, currently trading at $77,934.29, is experiencing a familiar struggle just below the $80,000 threshold, hindered by sellers despite the influx of fresh stablecoin liquidity, growing ETF demand, and a risk-positive equity market, which may delay rather than prevent a breakout. The cryptocurrency briefly surpassed $79,000 during Asian trading hours before retreating to trade below $78,000. Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin has declined by approximately 0.4%, with ether dropping 0.6%, XRP falling 0.8%, and Solana's SOL decreasing by more than 1%. Broader market benchmarks also faced pressure, with the CoinDesk Memecoin Index and Smart Contract Platform Select Capped Index each falling over 1%. According to FxPro's chief market analyst, Alex Kuptsikevich, the $80,000 level is acting as a short-term barrier due to concentrated sell orders. Kuptsikevich noted that as bitcoin approaches this round figure, a buildup of sell orders prevents the coin from moving upward, but argued that the pullback appears temporary and aligns with a broader uptrend that began in late March. On-chain and ETF data support this view, with Binance recording a net inflow of roughly $3.4 billion in stablecoins this month. Institutional demand remains strong, with U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs attracting $2.44 billion in investor money this month. However, security risks in decentralized finance continue to impact sentiment, with the SUI-based lending platform Scallop being exploited, resulting in the loss of approximately 150,000 SUI. DeFi protocols have lost an estimated $623 million to hacks in April alone, underscoring a persistent structural risk for the sector.