Bitcoin has surrendered Monday's brief push above $65,000, sliding roughly 3% over the past 24 hours to trade near $63,270, according to CoinGecko data. The retreat erases a geopolitical relief rally that had briefly lifted the cryptocurrency above $65,500 during Monday's session.
The move lower reflects a combination of fading institutional demand and cautious positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision. Data from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $11.64 million on July 27, suggesting some institutional investors used the rally to reduce exposure rather than add to positions.
Monday's advance had been fueled by reports that military tensions between the United States and Iran had eased, along with news that Iranian and Omani officials were working to restore maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Those developments helped calm fears of a broader regional conflict and sent crude oil prices lower, while U.S. equities opened higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both posted modest gains, and Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $65,000 level.
But the rally failed to attract sustained buying. By Tuesday, market attention had shifted back to macroeconomic factors, with Treasury yields remaining elevated and expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer continuing to weigh on risk assets. Higher yields increase the relative appeal of government bonds compared with non-yielding assets like Bitcoin, while a stronger dollar can pressure dollar-denominated assets by raising costs for overseas investors.
Rather than extending Monday's move, many traders treated the push above $65,000 as an opportunity to lock in short-term profits ahead of the Fed announcement. Selling accelerated once Bitcoin slipped below nearby technical support levels. Derivatives market data showed more than $156.8 million worth of Bitcoin positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, including approximately $133.5 million in long positions. In the past 12 hours alone, long liquidations exceeded $106 million, indicating that leveraged bullish traders accounted for most of the forced selling. As exchanges automatically closed those positions, additional sell orders entered the market, accelerating the decline toward $63,000.
Technical picture turns bearish
The daily chart shows Bitcoin struggling below several key moving averages after failing to hold Monday's recovery. Price has slipped beneath the 20-day exponential moving average near $64,223 and the 50-day EMA around $64,916, keeping short-term momentum tilted lower. The 100-day EMA near $67,599 and the 200-day EMA around $73,306 remain well above the current price, indicating that the broader trend has yet to recover despite several rebounds during July.
Volume Profile Visible Range data identifies the $64,800-$65,000 region as one of the heaviest trading zones over recent months. Repeated rejection from that area suggests sellers continue defending a major supply zone, limiting Bitcoin's ability to establish a sustained recovery. The 4-hour chart presents a similar picture: after rallying into the $65,300-$65,600 resistance zone on Monday, Bitcoin reversed sharply and dropped through multiple Fibonacci retracement levels. The sell-off also pushed price below the Ichimoku conversion line, base line and cloud, placing the cryptocurrency back in a bearish short-term structure.
Immediate support now sits around the $63,000-$63,300 area, where Bitcoin has started to stabilize following Tuesday's sell-off. Losing that zone could expose the recent swing low near $60,000-$61,000, which served as support earlier this month. On the upside, Bitcoin would first need to reclaim the 20-day and 50-day EMAs before challenging the high-volume resistance around $65,000. A decisive move above that region would improve the short-term outlook and reopen the possibility of retesting the $66,000-$67,000 area.
For broader context, the pullback comes amid a mixed picture across risk assets. While gold tests $4,050 as hawkish Fed risks loom, and oil's 10% two-day drop raises questions about whether markets priced out Hormuz risk too soon, Bitcoin's inability to hold above $65,000 highlights ongoing headwinds from monetary policy uncertainty and institutional caution.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
