Bitcoin Faces Resistance at $80,000, Analysts Predict Temporary Pullback

Bitcoin, currently trading at $78,378.99, is experiencing a familiar struggle to surpass the $80,000 mark due to seller resistance, despite indicators such as fresh stablecoin inflows, ETF demand, and a risk-on equity market suggesting a potential breakout. The cryptocurrency briefly surpassed $79,000 during Asian trading hours before retreating below $78,000, resulting in a 0.4% loss over the past 24 hours. Other major cryptocurrencies, including Ether, XRP, and Solana's SOL, have also declined, with broader market indexes experiencing over 1% losses. According to Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro's chief market analyst, the $80,000 level is acting as a short-term barrier due to concentrated sell orders. However, Kuptsikevich believes the pullback is 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 and U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs attracting $2.44 billion in investor funds. Nevertheless, security risks in decentralized finance (DeFi) continue to impact sentiment, with the SUI-based lending platform Scallop being exploited, resulting in the loss of approximately $142,000. This adds to the growing list of DeFi protocol hacks, which have lost an estimated $623 million in April alone. In traditional markets, WTI crude oil prices remain above $90 per barrel, with Brent above $100, posing a threat to the global economy due to high inflation.