The cryptocurrency market is witnessing a period of stagnation for Bitcoin, with minimal movement in its value. On Wednesday, during Asian trading hours, Bitcoin's price hovered just below $77,000, marking a 0.1% increase over the past 24 hours and a 0.8% decline over the week. This stability occurred despite Brent crude oil prices surpassing $111 per barrel, following a Wall Street Journal report that President Donald Trump has instructed his aides to prepare for an extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has described its current situation as a 'State of Collapse,' according to Trump's statement on Truth Social on Tuesday. In response, Tehran has signaled its potential acceptance of an interim agreement to reopen the strait if Washington lifts its blockade of Iranian ports.
Other major cryptocurrencies, such as Ether, XRP, Solana, and BNB, experienced declines of 2.6%, 3.8%, 3.2%, and 2.3%, respectively, over the week. In contrast, Dogecoin saw a 5.5% increase, making it the only top-10 token, excluding stablecoins, to exhibit growth over the past seven days.
As a result, Bitcoin's market dominance is gradually increasing, a trend that often occurs when macroeconomic stress arises, and capital flows into the largest asset. Zaheer Ebtikar, founder of Split Research, noted in a statement that Bitcoin's relative calmness is indicative of a shift in market structure. 'The supply overhang has finally dissipated, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side than it was just a few months ago,' he explained to CoinDesk via email. 'Bitcoin is far less sensitive to regulatory noise or central bank policy than people think.
Its sensitivity is purely a function of wider volatility, and since we're currently in a quieter trading range, there's no immediate rush for the exits,' Ebtikar added. From a technical perspective, analysts at Bitget have identified $75,000 as the critical level where the upward range that has held since late March breaks, potentially leading to further downside. A reversal towards $80,000 from current levels would maintain the rally structure intact and set up a retest of the resistance that has rejected Bitcoin's attempts since February. The Federal Reserve is set to announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, followed by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
The US equity market experienced a sell-off on Tuesday due to growing skepticism about the payoff from artificial intelligence capital expenditure, with Nasdaq 100 futures rebounding 0.4% in Asian hours. Brent crude prices continue to fluctuate, remaining elevated near $111, which may put renewed pressure on inflation expectations ahead of the central bank decisions. Traders will be watching whether Bitcoin's apparent supply exhaustion holds against the next macro shock.
If Ebtikar's assessment is correct, the seller base that capitulated through March and April is gone, and Bitcoin's price will be driven by volatility rather than headlines until something triggers a fresh wave of selling. If the assessment is incorrect, the $75,000 level may be tested quickly, and the range break flagged by Bitget may play out as expected.