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Bitcoin climbed to $77,400 and edged higher with other risk assets after earnings reports from the biggest US technology companies helped stabilize markets.
The advance came after Apple ( AAPL ) joined peers with an earnings report that improved sentiment across the industry. The companies, which include Google parent Alphabet ( GOOG ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta ( META ) and Amazon ( AMZN ), all reported double-digit revenue growth earlier this week.
The earnings reports helped risk assets rally as renewed confidence in the AI growth story pulled investors back into stocks and crypto, though the gains so far reflect relief buying rather than conviction that a new rally has begun.
In a note shared with CoinDesk, crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin said the market is dealing with “short-term pressures with still mixed structural factors,” including reduced hopes for rate cuts, ETF outflows and higher geopolitical risk.
Crypto prices held up this week even as oil rose, and spot bitcoin ETFs saw more than $400 million in outflows as April ended.
Oil remains a key factor. Higher crude oil prices from the Iran conflict and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could feed inflation, making central banks less willing to cut interest rates. It can weigh on crypto and other risk assets by making cash and bonds more attractive.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at 3.50% to 3.75% this week, although the four dissenting votes are the most since 1992. Mercado Bitcoin said the decision and the absence of clear rate cut signals led markets to price in policy expectations.
“In the near term, the market should remain volatile and very reactive to economic data,” said the company’s head of research, Rony Szuster. “In the medium term, the structure remains dependent on the stabilization of institutional flows and the path of global monetary policy.”
Jerome Powell’s Fed chairmanship ends on May 15, and Kevin Warsh is expected to chair the June FOMC meeting, which could induce volatility given Warsh’s preference for monetary tightening.
The key test remains at $80,000. A break can attract new buyers, while a failed move can trigger selling if leveraged longs relax. Pay attention!
Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today. For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
What is trending
Today’s signal
The weekly plot of the bitcoin price is testing rejection at the $80,000 resistance zone, with the RSI showing early signs of a bullish divergence – the price posted a lower low while the RSI held higher – however unconfirmed at a weekly close.
A failure to break above keeps the price range bound between the 200-day exponential moving average of around $68,000 and that level.
