Crypto Markets Rattle As Bitcoin Sinks Under $77K Following Oil Spike
Bitcoin’s technical indicators had just started flashing warning signs when crude oil markets made things worse. The MACD histogram turned red — a signal that buying pressure was fading — right as surged past $104 a barrel, rattling risk assets across the board.
Bitcoin Gives Back Recent Gains
BTC had clawed its way above $78,000 earlier this week, briefly restoring confidence among buyers. That recovery is now gone. The cryptocurrency slipped below $77,000 on April 28, trading at $76,180 — its lowest level since April 22, when it had just reclaimed that threshold after weeks of struggling beneath it.
The $77,000 mark carries weight in Bitcoin’s recent history. The asset first broke below it in early February and spent a prolonged stretch under it. A failed retest on April 17 kept sellers in control. The brief breakout on April 22 looked like a turning point. It wasn’t.
For to get back on track, analysts say it needs to retake $77,000 and push through the upper Bollinger Band near $79,850. Until then, the immediate floor sits around $75,490, near the middle Bollinger Band — a level BTC has bounced from before, though holding it is far from guaranteed.
Oil Jumps As Iran Talks Hit A Wall
The backdrop driving the sell-off is a breakdown in . On April 27, Iran put forward a new proposal through Pakistani intermediaries. The offer included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade, while asking to push nuclear discussions to a later stage.
US President Donald Trump rejected it. His administration made clear that the terms didn’t go far enough — particularly on nuclear weapons, which Trump said Iran could not be allowed to develop.
A planned US delegation trip to Islamabad had already been canceled after earlier Iranian terms were seen as insufficient, with travel security concerns also cited. Indirect back-channel communication continues, but face-to-face talks remain frozen.
Oil markets moved fast. WTI crude shot from $98 to a peak of $104 before pulling back slightly to $101. That still left it up 2.50% on the day and more than 4% on the week, following a 12.70% surge the prior week.
Crypto Markets Feel The Pressure
Bitcoin retreated 2% on April 28 after sliding 1.64% the previous day. The consecutive losses erased what had looked like a meaningful recovery, leaving the asset more than $3,000 below where it traded just days earlier.
Broader market uncertainty tied to is adding to the pressure. When oil climbs sharply, it typically signals supply fears and geopolitical instability — conditions that tend to push investors away from higher-risk assets like crypto.
Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView
