After briefly testing the $100,000 mark early Thursday, Bitcoin rebounded strongly, climbing back above $103,000.
Following weeks of relentless gains pushing Bitcoin (BTC) near record highs, the cryptocurrency saw a much-needed pause as traders cashed in some profits on Thursday.
This consolidation unfolded alongside a flurry of U.S. economic reports. April retail sales fell short of expectations, producer prices rose less than anticipated, jobless claims remained steady, and both the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey indicated a slowdown in business activity. Despite these mixed signals, traditional markets remained largely unfazed: the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the Nasdaq ended the day flat.
Bitcoin dipped to around $101,000 early in the U.S. session but recovered to above $103,000 later, closing modestly lower over the past 24 hours.
Altcoins, however, took a harder hit. The broad CoinDesk 20 Index dropped 3% during the same period, with native tokens such as Aptos (APT), Avalanche (AVAX), and Uniswap (UNI) plunging between 6% and 7%.
Market analysts urge crypto investors not to worry over this pullback.
“This looks like a correction within a larger, medium-term upward trend,” said Ruslan Lienkha, Chief of Markets at YouHodler. He noted that the cooling momentum in equities following the U.S.-China tariff delay prompted short-term traders to take profits, a sentiment that spilled over into risk assets including Bitcoin.
“Moves under 5% are often just market noise,” added Kirill Kretov, trading automation expert at CoinPanel. “Profit-taking after a strong rally, combined with thin liquidity, can amplify even small sell-offs into noticeable price corrections.”
Beyond the short-term fluctuations, the overall price action remains healthy, showing no signs of an imminent top.
Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research, pointed out that Bitcoin recently exited one of its longest stretches of below-neutral funding rates—indicating cautious positioning by derivatives traders.
“This pattern resembles the defensive behavior we saw in October 2023 and 2024, far from the exuberance typical near local market peaks,” Lunde wrote, expressing optimism that Bitcoin maintaining levels above $100,000 without frothy sentiment could pave the way for new record highs.
Steno Research highlighted that the current crypto rally is supported by a quieter but powerful expansion in private credit markets, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. Unlike previous bull runs driven by massive base money creation from central banks, this rally is fueled by credit growth amid ongoing quantitative tightening by the Fed and ECB.
“Many attribute the rally to China’s liquidity injections, but that’s only part of the story,” noted Samuel Shiffman in a recent report. “The real driver is Western bank credit expansion—a subtler force underpinning this move.”
Looking ahead, Shiffman’s forward-looking indicators suggest improving global financial conditions through the summer, buoyed mainly by a weakening U.S. dollar—a trend historically favorable for Bitcoin prices.
“We likely have room to run through June and early July,” he said, “but by late July, the outlook becomes more uncertain. Our leading indicators point to a potential peak in financial easing around August.”
