BTC slips 2.4% to $76,923 after $79K rejection; Fed & megacap earnings eyed

BTC fell 2.4% to $76,923 after failing to hold above $79,000. The report says BTC had rejected $79K multiple times, turning that level into a range ceiling. A broader risk-off move hit the majors: ETH slid 3.7% to about $2,290, SOL dropped 3.9% to around $84.10, XRP fell 3.2% to about $1.39, and BNB eased 1.8% to roughly $625. TRON was the lone top-10 exception with modest gains. Support and risk signals are mixed. Whale activity remains constructive: Santiment data cited in the article shows whales accumulated 40,000+ BTC in the past two weeks alongside rising volatility. But CryptoQuant’s Ki Young-Ju argues the prior BTC jump above $79,000 was largely a derivatives short-liquidation event, not sustained spot demand, raising the risk that rallies fade quickly. Consistent with squeeze behavior, BTC funding rates have been negative for seven days (about -0.13%), implying shorts have been paying longs. Macro context adds some cushion. Brent crude rose 1% to above $109 for a seventh straight day after an Iran-related proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz stalled. Meanwhile, institutional buys were noted: Bloomberg reported Strategy purchased $3.9B BTC in April, and Japan’s Metaplanet issued $50M in bonds to fund more BTC purchases. For traders, the next catalysts are likely decisive. The US Federal Reserve decision and big tech earnings (Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta on Wednesday; Apple on Thursday) could help BTC reclaim $80,000 if outcomes surprise to the upside. If not, the $79K rejection may keep BTC range-bound.