Bitcoin drifts higher but stays boxed in between $75K–$80K as traders favor shorts
Bitcoin ticked up Friday, climbing roughly 1.25% since midnight UTC to trade around $77,250 (quotes briefly reached $77,950.33). The broader CoinDesk 20 Index gained 0.7%, with 14 of its 20 constituents in the green.
The move follows Wednesday’s bounce off $75,000 — a level that had earlier acted as resistance — and leaves BTC essentially range-bound between $75,000 and $80,000 since April 19. On derivatives markets, negative funding rates on futures exchanges signal that many traders remain positioned for a pullback rather than further immediate upside.
Traditional markets were mostly muted: U.S. equity index futures were little changed, with Nasdaq 100 futures cooling after a week of Big Tech earnings and S&P 500 futures up only about five points. In commodities, precious metals slid — gold fell about 1% and silver about 0.7%.
Altcoins were mixed: AXS and HYPE each rose roughly 3%, while DeFi names MORPHO and AAVE traded lower. With price action confined to a narrow band and funding skewed toward shorts, traders will likely watch macro cues and on-chain signals for a catalyst to break the current range.
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