Bitcoin inched toward $68,000 on Friday morning in Asia as crypto markets steadied after a jittery week, while gold pushed higher amid renewed US–Iran tensions. Market moves - Bitcoin bounced after a choppy stretch that tested risk appetite, with the recovery feeling more like relief-buying than a decisive trend reversal. - The lift was broad: XRP, Solana’s SOL, Dogecoin (around $0.099) and Cardano’s ADA each gained up to about 2%. Ether underperformed, slipping slightly and hovering below the $2,000 mark — a level traders are treating as one to defend rather than celebrate. Price action context After weeks of sharp swings, moves are arriving in waves: quick rallies pull in dip buyers, but selling often resumes once prices hit levels where trapped holders can exit with reduced losses. Still, recent rebounds have looked incrementally less fragile, suggesting forced selling may be easing even if conviction buying hasn’t returned at scale. Macro and geopolitical drivers Geopolitics and macro are keeping participants cautious. Gold steadied near $5,000 an ounce after two sessions of gains as investors priced in rising Middle East risk: US President Donald Trump said he would allow 10–15 days for talks on a nuclear deal with Iran, and US forces reportedly built up in the region. That risk mix is boosting haven demand and making it harder for risk assets to build momentum. On the policy side, the latest Federal Reserve minutes read a touch more hawkish, prompting some traders to recalibrate. Wenny Cai, COO at SynFutures, said the key takeaway isn’t that hikes are back as the base case, but that policymakers “explicitly put them back on the table if inflation doesn’t keep cooling,” effectively raising the bar for near-term easing. Cai added that the repricing has supported the dollar and tightened financial conditions a bit, pushing bids toward cash-like instruments and short-duration Treasuries. Analyst views and technicals FxPro chief market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich struck a cautious tone, saying the recent dynamics and softer US equities raise the odds of a retest of local lows seen in the second half of 2024. On ether specifically, he noted the token sits on a long-running support line that aligns with the $2,000 area, but a true breakdown would need confirmation via a drop below recent lows near $1,500. On-chain signals and supply risk Under the surface, on-chain flows point to potential selling pressure. CryptoQuant reports record-level bitcoin inflows from large holders into Binance — a pattern that can foreshadow heavier spot supply. Research shop K33 likens current conditions to the late stages of the 2022 bear market, which led into a prolonged, grinding consolidation. Bottom line The market can rally, but rebounds have struggled to morph into sustained trends while sizable sellers remain positioned at the next round numbers. Until spot demand clearly outweighs those sellers, volatility and chop are likely to persist. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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