Bitcoin's Return to $74,000 Fuels Hopes for Broader Crypto Rebound

Bitcoin’s recovery from a 21-month low lifted Ether, Solana and other assets, but the market has yet to confirm a trend reversal. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recently continued to record large outflows, while the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has fallen to 24, in the “extreme fear” zone, signaling that risk appetite among institutions and retail investors remains weak.

Bitcoin recovered above $60,000 after touching $57,737, then briefly broke through $63,000 and climbed to around $64,000. Ether also rose above $1,800. A short-term squeeze liquidated about $160 million in short positions across the market within four hours, while related data put short liquidations at more than $170 million. SharpLink separately bought $16 million of Ether, but analysts said Bitcoin still needs to break above $70,000 to strengthen the reversal signal.

Bitcoin has become more closely correlated with risk assets such as U.S. equities, with oil prices, U.S. Treasury yields and geopolitical developments all influencing investors' risk appetite. Although spot Bitcoin ETFs have continued to record net outflows recently, better-than-expected earnings from NVIDIA provided support for technology stocks and the cryptocurrency market.

As of May 25, oil prices had fallen about 5% in a single day and selling pressure in U.S. Treasuries had eased, helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rebound across the board. Bitcoin rose 0.64% over the previous 24 hours to $77,361, holding above the $77,000 threshold as markets temporarily stabilized.

Bitcoin recently established key support at $75,600, coinciding with a record high for the U.S. S&P 500 and technology-sector earnings that lifted risk appetite. The $80,000 level is seen as the dividing line between bullish and bearish momentum. A decisive break above it would shift the market’s focus to a target of $85,000.

Market tracking on May 20 showed Bitcoin rebounding from a low of $75,600, first reclaiming $77,000 and then rising to about $77,700 intraday. Traders are watching whether it can retake $80,000. Meanwhile, inflows into DOGE and SHIB strengthened, signaling increased short-term speculative demand, though bearish positioning continued to weigh on the market.

The Coinbase Premium Index tracks the Bitcoin price gap between Coinbase in the United States and other exchanges. A sustained positive reading typically signals stronger U.S. spot buying. The index remained above zero for 14 consecutive days, its longest bullish streak since Bitcoin set a record above $126,000 in October 2025, making it an important sign of recovering demand.

Bitcoin broke back above $76,000 on Tuesday, April 21, as Coinbase-led spot cumulative volume delta, or CVD, rose to $517 million from $55 million on April 17. Combined spot and futures CVD exceeded $8.5 billion. Bitcoin subsequently consolidated below $77,000, shifting the market's focus to whether $75,000 can become long-term support.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become a key gateway for U.S. institutional capital entering the crypto market, while Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has continued adding Bitcoin to its corporate balance sheet. The two sources of buying have strengthened demand, but Bitcoin remains highly correlated with the S&P 500 and vulnerable to shifts in the U.S. economy, oil prices and geopolitical risks. Selling pressure from miners could also limit further gains.

Bitcoin returned to $74,000 after U.S. markets closed on Monday, April 13. U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded combined net inflows of $615 million on April 9–10, reversing outflows over the previous two days. Strategy said the same day that it had spent $1 billion to buy 13,927 BTC over the past week. However, the collapse of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks had earlier pushed Bitcoin down to $70,500, while the annualized premium on two-month futures stood at just 2%.

Bitcoin has been correcting for about five months since retreating from its record high of $126,000 in October 2025. Although the market regards it as a scarce asset, its 50-day correlation with the Nasdaq 100 remains at 84%. Cointelegraph said that if spot ETF flows are merely following Bitcoin's price, the rebound is not enough to prove the bear market has ended.

Bitcoin briefly climbed above $73,000 and approached $74,000 by March 14, 2026. The U.S. Commerce Department said on March 13 that the economy grew just 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025. CoinGlass data showed spot ETFs recorded $583 million in net inflows over four consecutive days, while a separate analyst estimate put the amount accumulated by Strategy through its STRC instrument at more than $900 million.

The market had been weighed down by a February selloff and extreme pessimism after U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $3.8 billion in net outflows over five consecutive weeks. Crowded leveraged short positions also left the market vulnerable to a short squeeze when prices rebounded. Whether ETF inflows resume has become a key indicator of risk appetite among U.S. institutional investors.

On February 25, Bitcoin rose more than 5% over 24 hours to $67,500 in early U.S. trading. ETH reclaimed $2,000, while major tokens including SOL and DOGE gained more than 10%. CoinGlass recorded more than $307 million in short liquidations. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted net inflows of $506.5 million that day, including $297.4 million for BlackRock’s IBIT.

The launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has given traditional investors a regulated route into the asset through managers including BlackRock. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin halving has curtailed new supply, and geopolitical risks in the Middle East have bolstered demand for safe-haven assets. Capital flows and shifting supply-demand dynamics have therefore become central drivers of the latest rally.

Bitcoin broke through resistance at $74,000 and hit a fresh high on March 16, gaining 3.68% over 24 hours. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded net inflows for three consecutive weeks. Major crypto assets including Ether, Solana and Cardano rose as much as 6% on the day, signaling a marked recovery in risk appetite.

Bitcoin is highly sensitive to interest-rate and inflation expectations. February’s consumer price index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics matched market forecasts and did not support a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut. Still, falling oil prices helped ease inflationary pressure and supported risk assets including cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin quickly reversed its overnight losses after the February CPI release, first breaking above $70,100 and then climbing past $71,000. Markets also digested news of a 400 million-barrel oil release. Ether, Solana and Cardano (ADA) rose in tandem, showing little drag from weakness in U.S. stocks.

Institutional capital has become a major driver of Bitcoin prices since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. An easing of U.S. policy uncertainty, along with gains in U.S. stocks and strong corporate earnings, lifted risk appetite and helped Bitcoin reclaim the $68,000 level.

Bitcoin surged from $62,400 to $68,600 over the past 24 hours, gaining about 9.9% and reaching a weekly high. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs ended five consecutive weeks of net outflows and recorded one of their largest inflow days of the quarter in the latest session, bolstering buying demand. Analysts cautioned, however, that the risk of market volatility had not fully receded.