[Analysis] "Bitcoin reaffirms resistance at $70,000…attention turns to whether Ethereum can hold $1,600 support"

Bitcoin (BTC) has again failed to break above $70,000 and continues to move sideways around the $63,000 range.

On the 24th, crypto (digital asset) market-making firm Wintermute shared a market update via X (formerly Twitter), saying it views Bitcoin as "trading like a high-beta growth asset."

Bitcoin has repeatedly confirmed resistance around the $70,000 level, with the post-liquidation rebound failing to gain traction. Prices have been oscillating within a narrow range, and liquidity is thin, with limited conviction on direction.

Ethereum (ETH) also fell below $1,900 this week. The level is seen as more of a psychological support than one with strong technical significance. In the near term, the area around $1,600 was cited as a key level to watch.

No clear directional signal is emerging in derivatives markets either. Basis has dropped to its lowest level in months, put option preference has been rising, and open interest has continued to trend down since October last year.

Wintermute interpreted the recent market backdrop as pointing to the possibility of a "regime change." While the market has previously reacted to short-term catalysts such as tariff headlines or remarks by Federal Reserve (Fed) officials, the firm said more structural variables are now being reflected in prices.

The first variable is a reassessment related to artificial intelligence (AI). Following U.S. corporate earnings and the launch of large AI models, valuations in tech stocks are being recalibrated, and the growth-stock premium is coming under pressure. The second is the trend toward deglobalization. As tariff policy is increasingly viewed not as a temporary measure but as a structural shift, concerns over supply-chain fragmentation and rising costs are affecting asset allocation.

In this environment, value stocks and real assets such as gold, commodities, industrials, and energy are showing relative strength. By contrast, growth and momentum assets are undergoing a pullback, and Bitcoin—classified as a high-beta growth asset—may be at a disadvantage in the near term.

"Crypto is currently being sold alongside tech stocks in an environment where risk premia are rising," Wintermute said, adding that "it is still too early to conclude whether this narrative will remain a temporary correction or develop into a structural paradigm shift."