The tone in bitcoin has been more positive of late, but the rally from the February lows has been rather meek, with any attempts to return to $80,000 quickly getting shot down.
U.S. stocks, though, continue their remarkable run in the face of the Iran war, with the Nasdaq gaining 1.6% for its 11th consecutive daily advance and closing at a new record high above 24,000. The S&P 500 added 0.8% and also touched a new record above 7,000.
Bitcoin made another push to break above $75,000 on Wednesday, but the move stalled once again at a threshold that has repeatedly capped gains in recent months.
Trading recently around $75,134, bitcoin was higher by 1.45% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data.
Crypto-linked stocks moved higher alongside the broader risk-on tone. Coinbase (COIN) rose 6.2%, Robinhood (HOOD) jumped more than 10%, and bitcoin treasury firm Strategy (MSTR) gained 4.4%.
While equities have fully recovered and pushed into new highs, bitcoin is still playing catch-up after its sharp February drop to $60,000.
“Since yesterday we've rejected from the top end of this two-month range,” said Jasper de Maere, trader at Wintermute. “It feels like the flow picture, which looked encouraging yesterday, is already being questioned.”
For now, he pointed to $72,000 as the key level to watch. Holding above it would keep the breakout narrative intact, allowing for further attempts at the range highs.
A break lower, however, could see bitcoin slip back into consolidation as volatility compresses, he added.