Bitcoin Struggles to Break Above $80,000 as Fed Decision Draws Near
Bitcoin has struggled to break above $80,000 despite its recent recovery from an intraday drop towards $76,500. The cryptocurrency currently trades near $77,600 on CoinGecko, with a seven-day performance of negative 2.9%. According to QCP Capital, the local resistance zone is around $80,000 to $82,000, with support at $77,000 to $78,000.
The failure to return above $80,000 comes after Bitcoin reached the $82,000 area earlier in September before sellers pushed the price lower. Expectations for the Federal Reserve's Sept. 15-16 meeting have changed following stronger-than-expected US employment figures for August, which saw payrolls increase by 162,000.
CoinShares research has linked recent digital asset fund flows with changes in US interest rate expectations. Institutional demand through US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds weakened at the same time, recording $46.6 million in net outflows on Sept. 8 and subsequent withdrawals of $120.2 million on Sept. 9 and $282.7 million on Sept. 10.
The figures leave ETF buying well below the levels seen during Bitcoin's earlier move towards $82,000. Selling around $80,000 has kept BTC inside a relatively narrow range since its early-September rejection. Buyers have continued to enter around $76,000 to $77,000, while attempts to move through $80,000 have struggled to hold.