Bitcoin (BTC) suffered its most extensive losses since November 2022, losing around 10% and finishing up $2,700 below its starting position, marking a grim week for long traders. Currently targeting $27,000, BTC/USD is now battling for last month's support, with market participants divided over the potential outcomes. Some are betting on deeper downside, while others remain confident of retesting multi-month highs. Possible catalysts include United States macroeconomic data releases and the next Federal Reserve interest rate decision. There is growing pressure to revamp the Bitcoin network, including converting it from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake to reduce energy consumption and making it a smart contract hub. Despite the recent correction taking some of the "greed" out of crypto sentiment, some analysts believe that the current Bitcoin bull run is playing out similar to all others before it, leading to a strong bull run afterward. Crypto sentiment has cooled to "neutral" after hitting its highest levels since November 2021.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, has reportedly gone offline and handed over management of the Bitcoin protocol to the public by open sourcing its codes. In a cryptic message, Satoshi Nakamoto stated that he had moved on to other things and that Bitcoin was in good hands. Despite controversy surrounding the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the message is currently the last credited comment from the pseudonymous founder to Bitcoin users. There is growing pressure to revamp the Bitcoin network, including converting it from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake to reduce energy consumption, and to make it a smart contract hub. As a result, protocols like Stacks and RSK Infrastructure Framework are building DeFi and NFT solutions on the Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin (BTC) faced selling pressure in the week ending on April 23 as bond yields rose and U.S. dollar liquidity declined. The cryptocurrency fell 9% to $27,600, its largest single-week percentage loss since early November. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose by six basis points to 3.58%, while the USD Liquidity Conditions Index reached its lowest level in over a month. According to macro analysts, bitcoin and financial markets may see increased price turbulence in the near term due to the U.S. debt ceiling issue, which could be a source of short-term volatility and uncertainty in the market. While bitcoin is still seen as a risk asset, it may pick up a haven bid if the U.S. goes into default or if a deal is not reached before the deadline.

According to a research report by Coinbase, the correlation between bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) returns has been declining since mid-March, with the decline becoming more pronounced following the Ethereum blockchain's Shanghai upgrade. The report notes that the falling correlation can affect quantitative strategies that rely on cross-hedging one asset for the other and supports diversification arguments in favor of holding both BTC and ETH from a fundamental perspective. The weakening in the 40-day correlation of daily returns may continue for another two weeks due to the initial phase of ether withdrawals following the upgrade, with an estimated 73,000 ether to be unlocked in partial withdrawals and 822,000 unlocked in full withdrawals.

Bitcoin price has extended its decline below the $28,000 support zone and is currently trading below $28,000 and the 100 hourly Simple Moving Average. However, it has found support near the $27,200 level and has started to consolidate losses. The immediate resistance is near the $28,000 level, and a close above it and the 100 hourly SMA could start a decent increase towards the $28,500 and $28,800 levels. On the downside, immediate support is near the $27,400 level, followed by the $27,200 zone. A downside break below the $27,200 support might push the price towards the $26,800 support, while a move above $28,800 resistance could call for a decent increase. Technical indicators suggest that the MACD is losing pace in the bearish zone, while the RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level. (newsbtc)

Last week, bitcoin and ether prices experienced a downturn, erasing all price gains notched during the weeks-long mini-rally that followed the implementation of the Ethereum blockchain's highly anticipated Shanghai upgrade. However, according to Joe DiPasquale, CEO of BitBull Capital, technical signals found in bitcoin's price chart still look encouraging, and a healthy retest of the support zone between $25K to $27K is a positive sign for continued upward movement. Meanwhile, CoinDesk columnist David Morris suggests that Taylor Swift showed common sense in asking critical questions of FTX during negotiations for a reported $100 million sponsorship deal with the offshore crypto exchange. Even though her question about unregistered securities was unrelated to the risk that ultimately manifested, it was remarkably prescient given the current regulatory crackdowns on crypto exchanges. (Coindesk)

Bitcoin continues to show resilience, with its rally against the backdrop of the banking scandal highlighting a shift in investor sentiment towards viewing it as a hedge against banks. According to a report by CoinGecko, spot trading volume across the top 10 crypto exchanges was recorded at $2.8 trillion in Q1 2023, up by over 18% from Q4 2022.

Michael Saylor, the co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, recently emphasized the importance of Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and financial instability for Argentinians facing a challenging economic climate. Argentina is struggling with soaring inflation rates, which have led to an erosion of salaries and spending power, with nearly 40% of the population living in poverty.

Bitcoin appears to have halted its downward price movement and is attempting to establish a foundation above the $27,000 position, following its failure to sustain gains above the $30,000 mark. Pseudonymous crypto analyst El_crypto_prof suggested that the losses might be short-lived, pointing to historical data that suggests a potential bull run for Bitcoin following the end of smart money accumulation, signaled by the Quantitative Qualitative Estimation surpassing zero. Meanwhile, crypto trading expert Michaël van de Poppe projected that if Bitcoin experiences a lower test, it could lead to bullish divergences and opportunities for long plays towards $28,700.

The price of Ethereum has dropped below $1,900, with a weekly chart showing a significant drop of over 10%. The technical outlook for Ethereum is in favor of the bears, as demand and accumulation for the altcoin have decreased. In order for Ethereum to make a recovery, it is crucial for it to breach the immediate resistance strength from buyers, with the support levels currently at $1,840 and $1,820. The Relative Strength Index showed that sellers outnumbered buyers, with the Moving Average Convergence Divergence forming red histograms, indicating sell signals for the altcoin.