The price of Bitcoin has fallen on Tuesday after failing to sustain its position above $79,000 for the third time in eight sessions, thus establishing this level as the defining range. On Tuesday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $76,923, down 2.4% over the past 24 hours after reaching $79,399 on Monday and subsequently reversing its gains throughout the day.
Other cryptocurrencies such as Ether, XRP, Solana, and BNB also experienced declines, with Ether falling 3.7% to $2,290, XRP slipping 3.2% to $1.39, Solana dropping 3.9% to $84.10, and BNB declining 1.8% to $625. The top 10 tokens all traded in the red over the past 24 hours, with the exception of TRON and DOGE.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil rose 1% to above $109 a barrel, marking its seventh consecutive day of gains, following the failure of Iran's interim proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The White House has stated that U.S. officials are discussing the latest Iranian proposal while maintaining their 'red lines' on any deal to end the eight-week conflict. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index remained relatively unchanged, with Japanese stocks receiving support from the Bank of Japan's decision to keep its policy unchanged.
The yen strengthened 0.3% to around 159 per dollar. There are two prevailing views among market analysts regarding the Bitcoin trend. Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital believes that the combination of retail demand, institutional capital, and limited supply creates a strong foundation for further upside, citing the accumulation of over 40,000 BTC by whales in the past two weeks.
In contrast, analysis firm CryptoQuant argues that the push above $79,000 was primarily driven by a short squeeze in the derivatives market rather than sustained spot demand, leaving the market vulnerable to a reversal once the squeeze is exhausted. Funding rates on perpetual futures across major exchanges remain negative, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to hold positions, a pattern that historically precedes both squeezes and the unwinding of squeezes. The two views are not mutually exclusive, as spot demand from retail and institutions can coexist with the rally being front-loaded by short covering.
The key test is whether the next attempt to reach the $79,000 level will bring fresh spot bids or if it will run out of shorts to squeeze. Corporate accumulation of Bitcoin continues, with Strategy purchasing $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin in April, its largest monthly accumulation in a year. Japanese company Metaplanet has announced a $50 million bond issuance to finance new Bitcoin purchases, adding to its existing corporate Bitcoin treasury. The upcoming week's catalysts include the Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday, which may lead to a rate cut, and the release of earnings reports from major tech companies such as Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Apple.
Either the Fed's decision or a strong earnings beat could potentially push Bitcoin past the $80,000 mark, otherwise, the rejection from this level may define the upper end of the range rather than preceding a breakout.