By Callum Keown
Bitcoin was falling early Monday after testing the $80,000 level -- and falling short.
The world's largest cryptocurrency climbed as high as $79,475 late Sunday, before sliding to $77,700 in early morning trading, down 0.5% over the past 24 hours. Cryptos have recovered in recent months following a sharp selloff at the start of the year -- Bitcoin is up 29% from its Feb. 6 low. Ethereum and XRP also edged lower.
It's not the Bitcoin's first failed attempt at the milestone -- the digital asset also got up to $79,493 on Wednesday.
"It has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, as it's up around 30% since early February," Trade Nation analyst David Morrison said in a note Friday. "It could be that some profit-taking begins to creep in," he added, particularly as Bitcoin has yet to break the 80,000 mark.
Maybe he was right. Bitcoin's ascent appeared to hit a wall close to $80,000, though falling stock futures early Monday are also likely to be behind some of the weakness.
Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 -- home to the risk assets most likely to move in tandem with cryptocurrencies -- pointed 0.1% lower after the Nasdaq Composite hit a record high Friday.
But if Bitcoin is indeed following tech then this week could be the week it clears $80,000 and beyond. A flurry of tech earnings, including from Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft could ultimately decide the path ahead.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 27, 2026 05:07 ET (09:07 GMT)
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