With the cryptocurrency market turning extremely bearish again, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a sharp pullback that brought its price below the $70,000 mark, a zone that had previously acted as a strong support. The pullback below the level was no coincidence as recent news about macro events rocked the market, causing BTC to lose its newfound bullish momentum.
Bitcoin Bears Back In Charge After $70,000 Loss
As the Bitcoin price falls below the crucial $70,000 threshold, the market structure surrounding the flagship cryptocurrency asset has undergone a significant shift. Bearish sentiment is rapidly spreading throughout the market as a result of the breakdown, which has significantly shifted momentum in favor of sellers.
In a post on X, Milk Road, a market expert and trader, revealed that the pullback below the $70,000 level was triggered by news regarding the Federal Reserve (Fed) decision to hold rates steady. After the meeting, no cuts were made, no surprises, reinforcing the higher for longer narrative.
The market had anticipated rate reductions by the middle of 2026, but the Fed extended that timeline today. However, the cryptocurrency market did not respond well to the meeting’s outcome, resulting in a sudden decline across the sector. Once the news dropped, BTC fell from $72,400 to under $70,000, marking a 3% move that wiped out the week’s gains in just a few hours.
Milk Road has outlined the alignment between the Bitcoin price and the macro event. During high rates, money becomes expensive as investors gather capital in bonds and cash, and risky assets like crypto get hit. Meanwhile, when rates drop, money gets cheap as capital hunts for yield. In past scenarios, this trend has been the rocket fuel for BTC.
Bitcoin’s pullback on Thursday following the Fed results served as a painful reminder to short-term BTC holders that macro events like these still drive the crypto market. As for long-term BTC holders, they are not new to this kind of move.
During the 2022 hiking cycle, Bitcoin dropped below $30,000, but as cut expectations grew in late 2023, it surpassed $70,000. With the next Fed meeting scheduled for May 6 and 7, 2026, a similar move might unfold later in the year, which could trigger an upswing to the previous highs.
In the meantime, Iranian tensions and CPI (Consumer Price Index) and PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) data will either bury or revive prospects for a rate cut. However, this depends on whether the rate cuts increase, which is bad, or decrease, which is a good sign.
More BTC Whales Are Appearing
Investors’ activity has improved, particularly among large holders, despite the recent sideways action of Bitcoin. Santiment data shows that the amount of whale wallet addresses holding 100 or more BTC has increased, suggesting renewed conviction among institutional investors.
In the past 3 months, there has been an addition +753 whale wallet addresses, representing a +3.9% rise in total. Within the same time frame, Sentiment noted that BTC’s market value has fallen by over 20.2%. According to Santiment, the ongoing confidence displayed by important stakeholders should at the very least cause investors to reevaluate their theory if they genuinely believe that cryptocurrency will reach zero.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
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