The price of Bitcoin has fallen on Tuesday after failing to maintain its position above $79,000 for the third time in eight sessions, establishing this level as a defining factor in the current range. On Tuesday morning, the cryptocurrency was trading at $76,923, representing a 2.4% decline over the past 24 hours, following a climb to $79,399 on Monday and a subsequent reversal. Other major cryptocurrencies, including Ether, XRP, Solana, and BNB, also experienced significant losses, with declines ranging from 1.8% to 3.9%.
In contrast, TRON and DOGE were the only top 10 tokens to trade in the green over the past 24 hours. The surge in Brent crude oil prices, which rose 1% to above $109 a barrel, has been attributed to the failure of Iran's interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The White House has stated that US officials are discussing the latest Iranian proposal while maintaining their 'red lines' on any deal to end the eight-week war. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index remained relatively stable, with Japanese stocks receiving support from the Bank of Japan's decision to maintain its policy unchanged. The yen strengthened 0.3% to around 159 per dollar. Market analysts are presenting two distinct interpretations of the bitcoin market trends.
Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital suggests that the return of US retail investors, combined with institutional capital and limited supply, creates a foundation for further upside. Additionally, Santiment data indicates that whales have accumulated over 40,000 BTC in the past two weeks, and the firm has observed a sharp shift in sentiment from fear to fear of missing out.
In contrast, CryptoQuant's founder Ki Young-Ju argues that bitcoin's 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 exhausts. Funding rates on perpetual futures across major exchanges remain negative on a 7-day basis, 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 return simultaneously with the rally toward $79,000 being front-loaded by short covering.
The key test will be whether the next attempt at the level brings fresh spot bids or runs out of shorts to squeeze. Corporate accumulation of bitcoin continues, with Strategy buying $3.9 billion of bitcoin in April, the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year.
Japanese company Metaplanet has announced a $50 million bond issuance to finance new bitcoin purchases, the latest in a series of yen-denominated debt deals used to build one of the largest corporate bitcoin treasuries outside the US. The week's catalysts are expected to arrive on Wednesday and Thursday, with the Federal Reserve announcing its policy decision and megacap tech earnings from major companies, which could potentially push bitcoin past $80,000.