Bitcoin Falls Below $29,500 As Broader Market Retreats

TL;DR

• Bitcoin has dropped below the $29,500 resistance level as risk appetite in the market lessens.

• The broader market is currently retracing after shedding more than 1% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin Settles Below $30k

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has been underperforming over the past few hours. The poor performance came after BTC broke past the $30k psychological level a few days ago.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $29,481, down by more than 1% in the last 24 hours. 

According to market experts, Bitcoin dropped below the $30k level as the risk appeal in the market lessened. Edward Moya, senior analyst at foreign exchange market maker Oanda, told CoinDesk that;

"Cryptos are losing some appeal as banking turmoil risks appear to be disappearing. Fed lending to banks continues to ease, and earnings have not revealed any major strains with the early banks that have reported. Also dampening the appeal for crypto is the surge behind Treasury yields, which is dampening the appeal for most risky assets."

The analyst pointed out that the strong Q1 earnings report from some of the leading banks in the United States, like Wells Fargo and Citi, has quelled the recent concerns about the banking sector.

Regardless, Bitcoin could be consolidating as it prepares for another rally. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, also reached an 11-month high over the weekend before retracing to now trade at $2,087 per coin.

The broader cryptocurrency market has lost more than 1% of its value, with the total market cap currently at $1.25 trillion.