The cryptocurrency market is witnessing a mix of trends, with Bitcoin showing minimal movement at just under $77,000 on Wednesday during Asian trading hours, marking a 0.1% increase over 24 hours and a 0.8% decrease over the week. This stability persists despite Brent crude oil exceeding $111 per barrel, spurred by a Wall Street Journal report indicating President Donald Trump's preparation for an extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has expressed its nation is in a state of collapse, according to Trump's statement on Truth Social, while Tehran hints at possibly accepting an interim deal to reopen the strait if the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ports. Other major cryptocurrencies like Ether, XRP, Solana, and BNB have seen drops, with Ether down 2.6% to $2,310, XRP falling 3.8% to $1.39, Solana losing 3.2% to $84.57, and BNB shedding 2.3% to $625.
The exception is dogecoin, which rose 5.5% over the week to $0.1016, the sole top-10 token outside stablecoins to show growth over seven days. As a result, Bitcoin's market dominance is gradually increasing, a common occurrence when macroeconomic stress arises and capital flows into the largest asset. Zaheer Ebtikar, founder of Split Research, notes that Bitcoin's relative calm suggests a shift in market structure. 'The supply overhang has finally been absorbed, and sellers spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side than it was a few months ago,' Ebtikar stated.
'Bitcoin is less sensitive to regulatory noise or central bank policy than perceived. 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.' Technically, analysts at Bitget have identified $75,000 as the critical line where the upward range that has held since late March breaks, potentially opening room for further downside with a clean loss.
A reversal toward $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. With the Fed announcing its rate decision later on Wednesday and the ECB following on Thursday, the US equity market sold off on Tuesday due to growing skepticism about the payoff from artificial intelligence capital expenditure.
Nasdaq 100 futures have rebounded 0.4% in Asian hours. Brent crude continues to whip between gains and losses but remains elevated near $111, putting renewed pressure on inflation expectations ahead of central bank decisions.
Traders are watching whether Bitcoin's apparent supply exhaustion will hold against the next macro shock. If Ebtikar's assessment is correct, the seller base that capitulated through March and April is gone, and Bitcoin trades on volatility rather than headlines until something forces a fresh leg of selling. If the assessment is incorrect, $75,000 will be tested quickly, and the range break Bitget flagged will play out as predicted.