Bitcoin has slipped back to the $63,000 area after briefly touching $65,500 during Monday’s session. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is down roughly 3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data, giving back most of the gains from the previous day’s geopolitical relief rally.
Monday’s Rally and Reversal
Monday’s uptick came after reports that military tensions between the United States and Iran had eased, with both sides appearing to step back from further escalation. News that Iranian and Omani officials were working to restore maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz also helped calm fears about potential oil supply disruptions. Crude prices fell, US equities opened higher, and Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $65,000 level.
But the move didn’t attract sustained institutional demand. Data from US spot Bitcoin ETFs showed $11.6 million in net outflows on July 27, suggesting some institutional investors were trimming exposure even as prices climbed. By Tuesday, attention had shifted back to macroeconomics.
Fed Caution Weighs on Risk Assets
With the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision approaching, market participants grew cautious. Treasury yields remained elevated, and expectations that interest rates would stay higher for longer continued to pressure risk assets. Higher yields make government bonds more attractive compared with non-yielding assets like Bitcoin, while a stronger US dollar can also weigh on dollar-denominated assets by raising their cost for overseas buyers.
Rather than extending the rally, many traders treated the move above $65,000 as a chance to take profits before the Fed announcement. Selling accelerated once Bitcoin slipped below nearby technical support levels.
Liquidations piled up quickly. Derivatives data showed more than $156.8 million worth of Bitcoin positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, including roughly $133.5 million in long positions. In the last 12 hours alone, long liquidations exceeded $106 million, meaning leveraged bullish traders did most of the forced selling. As exchanges closed those positions, additional sell orders hit the market, pushing Bitcoin toward $63,000.
Technical Picture
On the daily chart, Bitcoin is struggling below several key moving averages after failing to hold Monday’s recovery. Price has slipped beneath the 20-day EMA near $64,223 and the 50-day EMA around $64,916, keeping short-term momentum weak. The 100-day EMA near $67,599 and the 200-day EMA around $73,306 are well above current levels, suggesting the broader trend hasn’t recovered despite several rebounds in July.
Volume Profile Visible Range (VPVR) data shows the $64,800-$65,000 zone as one of the heaviest trading areas in recent months. Repeated rejections there indicate sellers are defending a major supply zone.
The 4-hour chart tells a similar story. After rallying into the $65,300-$65,600 resistance zone on Monday, Bitcoin reversed hard and dropped through multiple Fibonacci retracement levels. The sell-off also pushed price below the Ichimoku conversion line, baseline, and cloud, putting the cryptocurrency back in a bearish short-term structure. The forward Ichimoku cloud remains above current price, suggesting resistance overhead if buyers try again.
Immediate support sits around $63,000-$63,300, where Bitcoin has started to stabilize. Losing that zone could expose the recent swing low near $60,000-$61,000, which held earlier this month. On the upside, Bitcoin would first need to reclaim the 20-day and 50-day EMAs before challenging the high-volume resistance around $65,000. A decisive move above that would improve the short-term outlook and reopen the possibility of testing the $66,000-$67,000 area.
