Bitcoin Falls Near $78,000 After Brief Move Above $81,000

Bitcoin retreats after crossing $81,000

Bitcoin was trading near $78,000 heading into the weekend after briefly rising above $81,000 on Aug. 28 and then falling back below $80,000.

CryptoSlate reported an intraday high of about $81,300 and a low near $77,078. Its market analysis identified $77,000 as immediate support and $80,000 as resistance.

Levels shaping the weekend range

• Bitcoin was near $78,000 when CryptoSlate published its report.
• The report placed immediate support around $77,000 to $77,100.
• It identified $80,000 as the level Bitcoin would need to recover before testing the Aug. 28 high again.
• CryptoSlate said a sustained move below $77,000 would shift attention toward $75,000 to $75,500.
• A move below $75,000 would bring the reported $72,000 to $73,000 area into focus, although that remains a conditional market scenario rather than a confirmed outcome.

Rate expectations weigh on the market

CryptoSlate linked the reversal to remarks by Kevin Warsh at Jackson Hole. According to the report, the estimated chance of a September rate increase rose to about 55% from roughly 40% before the speech.

Warsh said the Federal Reserve still had work to do if inflation did not move back toward its target, the report said. Bitcoin then closed below $80,000. The source presented the change in rate expectations as the reason for the pullback, but it did not provide an official statement confirming that market reaction.

Options expiry removes a price anchor

About 81,700 Bitcoin options with a reported value of $6.44 billion expired on Deribit at 08:00 UTC on Friday. Options are contracts tied to the future price of an asset.

CryptoSlate said much of the options interest had been concentrated around $75,000 and $80,000. With those contracts expired, the report suggested Bitcoin could move more freely away from that range.

US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded nine consecutive days of net inflows through Aug. 27, totaling about $3 billion, according to the source. An ETF is a fund traded on a stock exchange that gives investors exposure to an asset. ETF creation and redemption activity pauses during the weekend.

Weekend trading leaves mixed market forces

CryptoSlate reported that CME crypto derivatives have traded around the clock since late May, apart from a weekly maintenance period. That allows regulated derivatives markets to respond to weekend price moves while US spot Bitcoin ETF activity is paused.

The source described two conditional paths. Recovering $80,000 and moving above roughly $81,300 would put the reported $82,000 to $83,000 resistance area back in focus. Holding below $77,000 for several hours would instead support the report's downside case toward $75,000 to $75,500.

These levels are technical scenarios from CryptoSlate's analysis. They are not confirmed future prices. The supplied material does not establish which side of the range will break first.

Source

• CryptoSlate