Bitcoin rebounds near $66,000 as traders weigh support against weak demand

Bitcoin has bounced back toward the mid-$66,000s after a recent slide, giving crypto investors a cleaner level to watch: whether buyers can keep defending the area around its long-term trend line. The rebound is encouraging for bulls, but prediction-market pricing and U.S. demand indicators still show caution.

Decrypt reported that Bitcoin traded around $66,208 to $66,347 on Wednesday afternoon, after falling toward the $58,000 area in recent weeks. A separate price feed listed Bitcoin at $65,824, down 0.66%.

The key technical level is the 200-period exponential moving average, or EMA. An EMA is a rolling average price that gives more weight to recent trading, and the 200-period version is often used as a rough gauge of the longer-term trend. Decrypt reported that Bitcoin’s 200 EMA held as support after the selloff, meaning buyers stepped in near that average instead of letting price break lower.

The chart is better, but not clean

TradingView data cited by Decrypt showed Bitcoin’s July 22 daily candle opening at $66,520, reaching $66,698, falling to $65,488, and trading near $66,208, down 0.47% on the day. Decrypt said the 24-hour trading band was narrow and that support around $65,000 held.

The problem for bulls is that a bearish chart pattern remains in place. Decrypt reported that Bitcoin’s 50-day EMA is still below its 200-day EMA, a setup traders call a death cross. A death cross means the shorter-term trend is weaker than the longer-term trend, which many technical traders read as a warning sign.

That pattern may be easing, according to Decrypt, which reported that the gap between those moving averages appears to be narrowing. If the shorter-term average rises back above the longer-term average, traders call that a golden cross. The report described that as a possibility in the coming months, not a confirmed event.

Prediction-market traders are still cautious

On Myriad, a prediction market where users buy and sell contracts tied to future outcomes, traders leaned bearish on Bitcoin’s next major move. Decrypt reported that 64.6% of traders were betting Bitcoin would touch $55,000 before reaching $84,000. The market showed about $210,000 in volume.

Another Myriad market for Bitcoin’s price on July 26 at 4 p.m. UTC showed traders assigning a 99% chance to Bitcoin being above $60,000, 96% above $62,000, 84% above $64,000, 49% above $66,000, and 16% above $68,000.

Macro signals are mixed

The broader market backdrop has not settled the debate. Decrypt cited Yahoo Finance data showing U.S. stocks opened mixed Wednesday, with the S&P 500 down 0.16% and the Nasdaq lower by 0.56%, as investors waited for major technology earnings from Alphabet and Tesla.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 33, which Decrypt characterized as cautious rather than panicked. The index is a sentiment gauge for crypto markets, with lower readings reflecting more fear.

Policy news offered one possible bullish input. Decrypt reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers the Clarity Act, a crypto market structure bill meant to address the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction fight, was at the “1-yard line.” He urged Congress to pass it before the August 7 recess.

Demand from U.S. buyers looked weaker. Decrypt reported that the Coinbase Premium Index has been negative since May, including a 900-hour negative streak. The index tracks whether Bitcoin trades at a higher price on Coinbase than on global venues, a signal often used to measure U.S. institutional demand.

Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, previously told Decrypt that a persistently negative Coinbase premium points to broader risk aversion rather than worsening crypto-specific fundamentals. That leaves Bitcoin caught between a defended chart level and a market that has not yet shown strong U.S. buying pressure.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.