Bitcoin slips below $68,000 heading into the weekend as dollar posts steepest weekly gain in a year

• Bitcoin slid about 3.4 percent to roughly $68,000 on Saturday after a midweek surge to $74,000, continuing a pattern of late-week selling within a tight trading range.
• Despite the pullback, major cryptocurrencies remain modestly higher on the week, even as a surging U.S. dollar and expectations of delayed Federal Reserve rate cuts weigh on risk assets.
• On-chain data show about 43 percent of bitcoin supply is now at a loss, creating selling pressure on rallies, while a sharp rise in stablecoin inflows suggests sidelined capital that could reenter the market amid ongoing Middle East tensions.

Bitcoin BTC$67,901.40 fell to $67,960 by Saturday morning, down 3.4% over the past 24 hours and retreating sharply from the past week's high. The move fits what has become a recurring script in recent months, with late-week selling dragging prices toward the lower end of the range heading into Saturday.

Majors took the harder hit again. Ether dropped 4.4% to $1,974, solana fell 4% to $84.31, dogecoin lost 2.9% to $0.09, and BNB slid 2.6% to $627. XRP fell 2.2% to $1.37.

The weekly picture tells a more nuanced story though. Bitcoin is still up 3.6% over seven days. Ether has gained 2.6%. BNB added 2.1%. The mid-week surge absorbed the war shock and then some, even if Friday's pullback took the shine off.

Meanwhile, the dollar posted its steepest weekly gain in a year, strengthening as markets priced in higher energy costs, stickier inflation, and a Fed that has even less room to cut rates. That's a direct headwind for bitcoin and every other asset denominated against the dollar.

"As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the U.S. dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts," said Björn Schmidtke, CEO of Aurelion, in an email to CoinDesk.

The on-chain data paints a fragile picture beneath the surface. Glassnode data shows 43% of bitcoin's total market supply is now sitting at a loss. That's a significant overhang.

As bitcoin recovers, those underwater holders have an incentive to sell into any rally to break even, creating persistent resistance on the way up. It's one reason the push to $74,000 on Thursday couldn't hold. Every bounce toward higher prices runs into supply from people who've been waiting months to get out.

One bright spot came from stablecoin flows. Messari recorded a 415% jump in net stablecoin inflows to $1.7 billion over the week, with daily transfers up nearly 10%. That's potentially dry powder waiting to be deployed, and it suggests retail isn't entirely absent despite the fear-heavy sentiment. Whether that capital rotates into bitcoin or waits for lower prices is the question.

The war continues to set the tempo. The U.S.-Iran conflict showed no signs of resolution this week. Oil remains elevated. The Strait of Hormuz is still disrupted. And the macro backdrop of strong dollar, sticky inflation, and delayed rate cuts is the worst combination for risk assets.

Bitcoin's week looked impressive in headlines, touching $74,000 mid-week, but the round trip from $68,000 to $74,000 and back to $68,000 is just another lap of the range.

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• Bitcoin is now firmly in a deep bear market and could fall another 30% in 2026, according to CK Zheng of ZX Squared Capital.
• Zheng argues that predictable investor psychology reinforces bitcoin’s four-year boom-and-bust pattern, keeping it a speculative asset rather than a safe-haven like gold.

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