Bitcoin slips to $79K as profit-taking follows 23% weekly rally

Bitcoin fell nearly 1% to $79,069 during Asian morning hours Wednesday, as traders took profits after a week that lifted the largest cryptocurrency 23%. The pullback was broad, with every major token except Hyperliquid's HYPE trading lower over 24 hours.

CryptoQuant's Bull Score jumped from 30 to 80 over the week, its highest since Oct. 6, 2025, when bitcoin traded near $124,000, the firm shared in a note with CoinDesk. Eight of the 10 market and onchain indicators tracked are now bullish.

XRP fell over 4% to just above $1.44, though it still leads the week at almost 45%. Zcash dropped almost 6% to just above $783 while holding a 55% weekly gain, the strongest of the group, as a dedicated spot ETF went live in the US. Dogecoin slid almost 5% to just under 9 cents, solana over 3% to just under $97, and tron almost 3% to nearly 34 cents. BNB fell almost 2% to just over $695 and ether over 1% to just under $2,465, keeping weekly gains of almost 16% and 29% respectively. HYPE rose almost 3% to just over $81, extending its weekly gain to around 40%.

Attention turns to second-quarter GDP figures due Wednesday morning and July PCE inflation, before Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote as chair on Friday. Markets put the odds of the Fed holding rates at 3.50% to 3.75% in September at roughly 60%.

Bull Score hits 10-month high

Apparent spot demand is growing at its fastest monthly pace since late December, and spot and futures demand are expanding together for the first time since early October 2025, CryptoQuant said. The rally was fueled in part by the "debasement trade," where markets bet that US Treasury measures to calm a spike in bond yields would weigh on the dollar, pushing flows into alternative assets including bitcoin and gold.

Bitcoin tested resistance near $81,000 earlier in the week before pulling back, with $79,000 now serving as the immediate support level. About 81,700 bitcoin options worth $6.44 billion expire on Deribit at 08:00 UTC Friday, with the largest concentrations at $75,000 and $80,000 strike prices, according to Deribit data.

Macro calendar takes center stage

Equities moved in the opposite direction from crypto, with MSCI's Asia Pacific index rising 1% as falling crude eased inflation worries. Nvidia snapped a seven-day losing run on Wall Street before reporting earnings later Wednesday.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index surged from 27 to 74 in mid-August, reflecting a shift from fear to greed as bitcoin rallied from below $68,000 to nearly $80,000, according to the index provider. US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows of $337.56 million, extending a streak of institutional buying that has supported the rally.

A weekly close above $83,000 would confirm a new bull market, according to CryptoQuant's analysis, while a break below $79,000 could trigger a deeper correction toward the $75,000 options strike.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.