Bitcoin Price Faces $79k Resistance, Tesla Keeps Holdings
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) dropped about 2% to $77,520 on Thursday, underperforming a slightly weaker broader crypto market, primarily due to a rejection at key resistance amid heightened geopolitical risk.
Trading data from crypto exchange showed that BTC failed to hold above $79,000, coinciding with stalled U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks and rising oil prices.
Specifically, Bitcoin was rejected from the $79,000–$80,000 resistance zone, a level it briefly touched on April 22. This pullback coincided with renewed macro uncertainty as U.S.-Iran peace talks stalled and a U.S. naval blockade persisted, raising oil prices and increasing risk aversion.
Technical traders noticed that the world’s largest digital asset rally lost momentum at a major technical and psychological barrier, prompting traders to reduce exposure to risky assets.
With $1.55 trillion market capitalisation, Bitcoin trading volume is down 13% to $41 billion over the past 24 hours, suggesting profit takings.
Meanwhile, the drop follows a 4.5% surge to 11-week highs, putting short-term holders in significant profit. On-chain metrics, such as NUPL rising to 0.306, indicate increased profit-taking risk.
Concurrently, the average perpetual funding rate remains negative at -0.0014%, showing leveraged traders are still net-short and paying to hold those positions, which can exacerbate downward moves.
The market is digesting recent gains, with a sceptical derivatives backdrop providing little support during the sell-off.
The immediate trend hinges on key support. The 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $73,930 and the short-term holder realised price near $76,400 are critical.
If Bitcoin holds the $77,000–$77,500 range, a rebound toward the $79,600 whale resistance is possible. However, a break below $76,400 could trigger a deeper correction toward $73,000.
The large $8.07 billion options expiry on April 24, with max pain at $71,500–$72,000, adds potential volatility. The structure is testing a higher-timeframe support zone; holding it keeps the weekly uptrend intact.
Technical traders said they are now watching for price action around $76,400 and BTC’s reaction to the April 24 options expiry. Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings revealed no change to its 11,509 BTC treasury, despite booking an after-tax impairment loss of $173 million on its digital asset holdings.
This is a neutral signal for Bitcoin. The lack of selling demonstrates corporate conviction during volatility, but the accounting loss highlights the short-term earnings pressure large holders can face in a bear market.
