Price drops as much as 4% during trading, hitting $76,871

Gains stall this week after last week's 23% surge

Crypto market returns to wait-and-see mode

Kevin Warsh, chair of the US Federal Reserve. [Reuters]
Kevin Warsh, chair of the US Federal Reserve. [Reuters]

Bitcoin fell back below $80,000 after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said Friday (local time) that he would bring inflation down to its target level. Short-term US government bond yields also rose, cooling the risk-on sentiment that had prevailed in recent sessions.

Bitcoin dropped as much as about 4% during trading Friday (local time), hitting $76,871 (106.06 million won).

After surging 23% last week, Bitcoin failed to extend those gains further this week, effectively trading sideways.

The current price remains about 40% below the all-time high of around $126,000 set last October.

Bloomberg said the cryptocurrency market has been drifting without a clear direction, with investors staying on the sidelines.

The pullback follows last week's short squeeze, which was triggered by the largest-ever liquidation of leveraged bearish bets on digital assets.

Citing CoinGlass data, Bloomberg noted that open interest in Bitcoin futures — which account for the bulk of cryptocurrency trading — has not meaningfully recovered since last week's mass liquidations.

Rather than aggressively building new positions, investors appear to be watching for signals on future monetary policy and market direction.


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