Bitcoin, ETH trade cautiously as oil spike, ETF flows roil crypto markets

The cryptocurrency market is facing renewed pressure, with Bitcoin hovering around $67,000 and Ethereum trading below the $2,000 mark. The recent pullback comes after a sharp reversal in US spot Bitcoin ETF flows and growing concerns around inflation and geopolitical tensions.  Bitcoin, after making a recent low of $60,000, formed a strong green candle and bounced to $71,750. However, the bulls failed to deliver a follow-through rally. Since then, the digital asset has been trading sideways in a range between $65,000 and $74,000. 

Macro headwinds weigh

Analysts attributed the fall to macro headwinds. “With no signs of de-escalation in the U.S.–Iran conflict, WTI crude futures jumped nearly 19 per cent to around $108 per barrel, their highest level in about four years,” said Harish Vatnani, head of trade at ZebPay.

 

Energy markets, analysts said, are also adding to the pressure. Oil prices have started the week nearly 20 per cent higher, driven by the ongoing conflict involving Iran. “The surge in oil prices has weighed heavily on both cryptocurrencies and equities. On the institutional side, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $568.45 million in inflows over the past two weeks, following a previous $787.31 million gain. However, daily flows have been volatile, with notable outflows toward the end of the week,” said Riya Sehgal, research analyst at Delta Exchange.

 

Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, believes the decline is also due to profit booking by short-term holders.  “Bitcoin is trading near $67,000 after profit-taking by short-term holders intensified selling pressure near the $74,000 level. Over 27,000 BTC in realised profits moved to exchanges by STHs while bulls struggled to absorb the selling pressure. The outflows from Bitcoin ETFs in the last two days further contributed to the weakness. However, the weekly ETF flows are still positive at $568 million, marking a second straight week of net inflows since early October,” said Siddhant.

 

Amid this, Bitcoin was trading at $67,215.95, up marginally 0.28 per cent, with a 24-hour trading volume of $37.26 billion. In the last 24 hours, BTC has fluctuated between $65,639 and $68,177, according to CoinMarketCap data.

 

Siddhant believes that at current levels bulls need to defend the support near $63,500 to avoid further downward pressure. Any positive catalyst at these levels, he said, could help BTC reclaim the $70,000 mark.

 

Sehgal, meanwhile, believes the $63,700 level remains a critical support for Bitcoin. “A decisive break below this level could push the price toward the next support zone near $57,000,” she said.

 

That said, despite the uncertainty, institutional demand for Bitcoin is showing signs of recovery, Vatnani noted. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $568 million in net inflows this week, following $787 million the week prior, which he believes suggests renewed investor appetite after a period of outflows. 

Ethereum below $2000 

Ethereum, meanwhile, recently reversed from resistance around $2,130, coinciding with the upper daily Bollinger Band. At last check, ETH was trading with gains of 1.32 per cent at $1,977, with a 24-hour trading volume of $18.66 billion. In the last 24 hours, ETH has oscillated between $1,915 and $2,003, according to CoinMarketCap.   

Altcoins trade mixed

Among other altcoins, DeXe (DEXE), Chiliz (CHZ), Bittensor (TAO), Pi (PI), LayerZero (ZRO), World Liberty Financial (WLFI), Pump.fun (PUMP), Zcash (ZEC), ether.fi (ETHFI), Internet Computer (ICP), Polkadot (DOT), Morpho (MORPHO), KuCoin Token (KCS), Kaspa (KAS), Polygon (POL), NEAR Protocol (NEAR), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), Curve DAO Token (CRV), PancakeSwap (CAKE), Sui (SUI), Pepe (PEPE), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Render (RENDER), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), Avalanche (AVAX), OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP), Nexo (NEXO), Ethereum (ETH), Sky (SKY), and Aptos (APT) were trading higher by up to 18 per cent.

 

On the contrary, Humanity Protocol (H), Pippin (PIPPIN), XDC Network (XDC), Worldcoin (WLD), Mantle (MNT), Quant (QNT), Cosmos (ATOM), Canton (CC), Tether Gold (XAUt), Midnight (NIGHT), Jupiter (JUP), PAX Gold (PAXG), OKB (OKB), Dash (DASH), Sei (SEI), Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), BitTorrent [New] (BTT), Aave (AAVE), Monero (XMR), AINFT (NFT), MemeCore (M), Tezos (XTZ), and Bitget Token (BGB) were under pressure and trading lower by up to 11 per cent, according to CoinMarketCap data.