Bitcoin traded near $77,000 on Wednesday, showing limited downside even as a global bond selloff and rising energy prices added fresh macro pressure. Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield remained above 3% for a second straight session after reaching that level for the first time since 1996, while U.S. and European yields also rose. Brent crude climbed above $95 amid renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities, further complicating the risk environment.
Despite the difficult backdrop, bitcoin's pullback from its local high has been modest. LMAX Group market strategist Joel Kruger said crypto continues to show relative resilience and that dips continue to attract demand. The cryptocurrency jumped 23% just over a week ago and has since traded between $76,800 and $81,600.
Derivatives data pointed to a healthier market structure. K33 reported futures and perpetual open interest at $38.6 billion, down 1.8% over the past week, with perpetual open interest near four-month lows and funding rates in neutral territory. Wincent Senior Director Paul Howard said the lack of leverage reflects spot accumulation, with traders expecting current levels to hold over the next fortnight rather than a sharp move higher or a pullback to $65,000.
Institutional demand also strengthened. Global bitcoin exchange-traded products took in 52,152 BTC in August, the most since November 2024, according to K33 Head of Research Vetle Lunde. Strategy bought 4,603 BTC for $369.7 million last week, its first purchase since June. Lunde described this as a clear reversal after months of heavy selling, when record ETF outflows in May and June appeared to be retail-driven rather than institutional.
On the macro calendar, Friday's U.S. payrolls report is the next major test. Markets are pricing around a 70% chance of a September Federal Reserve rate hike following Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks.
Separately, the thinly traded Bitcoin fork BTCB2 underscored the risks of niche offshoots. BTCB2, which replaced Bitcoin's SHA-256d proof-of-work algorithm with BLAKE2b, traded at around $82 on Neoxa Exchange, nearly 99.9% below Bitcoin's value. The order book showed a highest bid at $82 and a lowest ask at $190, creating a spread of $108, or 131.7%, with ask prices extending as high as $389. The fork emerged from earlier debates around Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110 and remains a low-liquidity, experimental asset with a much smaller user base than Bitcoin.
