Bitcoin is pinned near $76,000 below $79,000 resistance as ETF outflows, Fed infighting, and record shorts sap risk appetite and keep volatility unnaturally muted.
- Bitcoin trades near $76,000, capped by heavy resistance between $78,000 and $79,000 as spot ETF outflows stretch into a third straight day.
- Internal divisions at the Federal Reserve and expectations of prolonged higher rates are damping risk sentiment across crypto.
- Derivatives data show record short positioning and subdued volatility, leaving Bitcoin boxed between improving support and weak demand.v
Kraken chief economist Thomas Perfumo said the market is now “more concerned about the policy uncertainties brought about by the ‘division’ within the Federal Reserve rather than the inaction itself,” especially with Jerome Powell still in place while Kevin Warsh is widely expected to take over, leaving “no clear policy transition.” He added that this leadership overhang compounds the impact of a Fed that has rarely shown such severe internal splits, a dynamic traders read as greater uncertainty over the inflation path.
On the macro side, institutions including Bitget Wallet and 21Shares argue that expectations of “maintaining high interest rates for a longer term” are suppressing risk assets broadly, pushing crypto into a wait-and-see phase instead of the trending conditions that typically accompany aggressive Fed easing. This comes as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs register net outflows for three consecutive sessions, with roughly $138 million leaving on April 29 alone; Ethereum ETFs, meanwhile, saw about $87.7 million in outflows over the same period.
While certain individual funds still attract inflows, the aggregate pattern signals cooling institutional demand at the margin. At the same time, CME positioning and ETF assets under management have stabilized rather than rebounded, suggesting that sidelined capital has yet to commit back into size.
