Market uncertainty prevailed this week as Bitcoin failed to break $87,000 and traded close to weekly lows. With concerns over trade wars escalating, the total crypto market capitalisation had fallen nearly 7% to $2.75 trillion by late Asian trading hours on Friday. In line with this, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index slipped into extreme fear territory at 28, down sharply from 44 the previous week. Trader hesitation was also evident across the altcoin market, with low trading volumes and only single-digit gains among the top 99 tokens. Why was Bitcoin down this week? Several macroeconomic catalysts kept Bitcoin muted Early in the week, sentiment took a hit as traders reacted to mounting geopolitical tension. US President Donald Trump announced a fresh round of 25% tariffs on imported cars, stoking fears of a renewed trade war. The economic backdrop further shook investor confidence. The latest PCE report showed inflation rising faster than expected, while March data from the Conference Board revealed that US consumer confidence had slumped to its lowest level in 12 years. This one-two punch of inflation and weakening sentiment pushed traders to de-risk, dragging down spot demand and futures activity. By midweek, those fears had only grown. The market was jittery ahead of the April 2 tariff rollout, which many feared would act as a bearish trigger for risk-on assets like Bitcoin. Although intended to protect US manufacturing, the proposed measures risked inflaming trade tensions. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell another 3.5% after the open on tariff news, with analysts dubbing the move the start of a new “World War 3” of trade wars. Even stronger-than-expected US jobs data failed to offset the gloom, as investors remained focused on the deteriorating macro environment. Still, market bets on a potential Federal Reserve rate cut continued to climb, with expectations inching higher despite the mixed signals. When writing, the CME Fed watch tool showed chances of a May rate cut at 41.3%. Will Bitcoin crash again? The current scenario around Bitcoin remains largely bearish. Market analyst Sergei Gorev, head of risk at bitcoin and crypto platform YouHodler, warned that a break below March’s low of $77,186 could open the door to what one described as a “crisis scenario” heading into 2025. The outlook for equities and crypto alike has darkened in the wake of escalating trade tensions, with sentiment weakening across the board. Yet, Bitcoin has continued to trade within a relatively tight range between $80,000 and $90,000. According to XBTO’s Javier Rodriguez-Alarcon, this range could act as a trigger zone, with any decisive breakout potentially fuelling a larger move in either direction. “With attention turning to how these reciprocal tariffs will be enforced in the coming weeks, investors should closely monitor key macroeconomic indicators and prudently manage position sizes, particularly by restricting leverage,” Rodriguez added. Nevertheless, some remained optimistic and suggested that the benchmark cryptocurrency may have bottomed and an upward rally may be looming. One such signal came from market analyst Cas Abbé, who pointed to a potential falling wedge pattern forming on Bitcoin’s daily chart. He noted that BTC didn’t print a new low even as traditional markets suffered their worst session in five years, which could suggest relative strength. Abbé added that Bitcoin often bottoms before the broader market, speculating that the $76,500 level may have marked the cycle low. For further upside confirmation, he advised watching for a breakout and reclaim above the $86,500 mark. Crypto commentator Lana Queen chimed in with a similar sentiment, noting that Bitcoin’s outperforming traditional markets was “bullish.” See below. Lana Queen @Lana_Queen7 · Follow Bitcoin is holding pretty well compared to stocks! 🟢This is bullish for crypto!The minute this non sense trade war is reduced/over, $BTC will moonAnd all strong altcoins, too! 7:38 PM · Apr 4, 2025 219 Reply Copy link Read 120 replies Others like Rekt Capital flagged that Bitcoin may be forming the “early signs” of an “exaggerated bullish divergence.” Based on the chart he shared, $82,400 was labelled as a key support that BTC needs to hold for the pattern to remain intact. Source: Rekt Capital Another technical setup was highlighted by fellow trader Merlijin The Trader. In an April 4 X post, he pointed out that Bitcoin had just completed what he called the “perfect AMD setup,” a bullish pattern that follows a cycle of accumulation, manipulation, and finally distribution. According to Merlijin, Bitcoin appears to have already passed through the manipulation phase and is now entering distribution. If the pattern plays out, it could signal the beginning of a major upward continuation, with the next leg targeting price levels above $100,000. When writing, Bitcoin was hovering above $83,000, down 1.3% over the past 7 days. Altcoin markets cool off Most high-cap altcoins gave up the gains accrued over the previous week. However, the total market capitalisation dipped only slightly, holding near the $1.1 trillion mark seen last week. The Altcoin Season Index dropped by four points from the previous week, firmly confirming “Bitcoin Season.” The top gainers were as follows: EOS EOS (EOS) rallied 40% over the past week to $0.8161 as of press time, while its market cap rebounded to over $1.27 billion. Source: CoinMarketCap Its price gains came with an increase in its trading volume from $200 million to nearly $1 billion yesterday before settling at $489 million. The EOS rally builds on its recent rebrand to Vaulta as it shifts gears toward building a blockchain-powered banking system. The EOS team also introduced four main “pillars” of Vaulta’s Web3 banking setup this week, which include wealth management, consumer payments, portfolio investment, and insurance. These will be backed by partners like CEFFU, SPIRIT Blockchain, and Blockchain Insurance Inc., each bringing real-world use cases to the Vaulta network. Pendle Over the last 7 days, Pendle (PENDLE) rose 14.5%, exchanging hands at $3.07 when writing. Source: CoinMarketCap Its market cap was seated at $495.72 million, while its daily trading volume was still hovering over $129 million after falling from its weekly peak of nearly $190 million. Pendle gains this week were accompanied by a sharp rise in open interest on Binance. The bullish bets from investors were largely driven by Binance whales who have recently begun accumulating PENDLE following its recent listing on Coinbase and expansion to Berachain. The project has also announced plans to expand to Sonic. These developments have pushed Pendle to exhibit some of the highest positive funding rates among DeFi-related tokens. Positive funding means that traders holding long positions are paying those with short positions, which typically reflects a bullish market sentiment. Zcash Zcash (ZEC) was up 12% over the past 7 days, priced at $40.49 at the time of writing. Source: CoinMarketCap Its market cap was standing at over $643.3 million, with a daily trading volume of $73.58 million. Zcash saw most of its recent gains after breaking above the descending trendline that started forming after its December highs, with the altcoin moving past the $35 resistance level and ending the downtrend. Zcash’s price also got a boost after Brave Wallet added support for shielded transactions in a recent desktop update, letting users buy, send, and receive the privacy-focused crypto right in the browser. The feature will be expanded to Android and iOS soon. The post Analysts call Bitcoin bottom as EOS defies market trend with 40% rally appeared first on Invezz
