BTC Shorts Gain After Seventh Rejection at $71.5K; Traders Test Discipline During Pullback
Bitcoin fell back from a $72,000 local high after failing to break the $71,500 resistance for the seventh time, triggering short positions and pushing price into the high $60,000s. Crypto analyst Astronomer highlighted that holding through retracements — when a trade returns to entry after being in profit — is one of the hardest parts of trading; his community captured consecutive wins, including a short from $72,000 that reached 2.5× reward-to-risk before partial exits. Spot Bitcoin ETF flows have been mixed: a one-day $220M inflow contrasts with roughly $2.6B outflows over 30 days, removing some of the earlier ETF bid. Macro pressure persists as U.S. 10-year yields hover near 4.2%, making leverage costlier. Options markets show rising demand for downside protection, indicating caution among large participants. Key downside levels traders are watching: $68,000, $66,900 and a stronger demand zone near $61,000. For traders, the immediate implications are increased short momentum, higher volatility, and greater importance on trade management and risk controls during retests.
Bearish
Repeated rejections at the $71,500 level (seven failures) and a subsequent move into the high $60Ks strengthen short-seller conviction and signal buyer fatigue. Mixed spot ETF flows (net 30-day outflows despite occasional inflows) remove a reliable demand backstop. Higher U.S. 10-year yields (~4.2%) increase financing costs for leveraged positions, reducing speculative upside. Options data showing increased demand for downside protection indicates institutional caution. Together these factors point to heightened downside risk and volatility in the short term, favouring bearish positioning or tighter risk controls for longs. Historically, multiple failed breakouts at the same resistance often precede deeper retracements (e.g., prior BTC cycles where repeated rejections led to multi-thousand-dollar pullbacks). In the medium-to-long term the market could stabilise if ETF demand returns or macro rates ease; absent those, the bearish bias may persist until price reclaims and holds above the $71,500 level with follow-through volume.