Bitcoin slips after briefly reclaiming $75,000… Altcoins post double-digit weekly gains

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly broke above the $75,000 level before falling back, while major altcoins rose in unison, signaling a broad-based rebound across the market.

According to cryptocurrency-focused media outlet CoinDesk on the 17th, Bitcoin climbed as high as $75,912 intraday before pulling back to around $74,372. The move was seen as driven more by the unwinding of derivatives positions than by fresh buying.

CoinDesk explained that “as a large $60,000 put options position was liquidated, market makers bought spot to hedge, pushing prices higher.” It was also noted that Bitcoin subsequently slipped back below a key support level around $74,400, suggesting limited momentum for further gains.

A broad rebound was also evident across the market. Over the past seven days, Ethereum (ETH) has risen about 13%, while XRP gained 11% and Solana (SOL) climbed 9.7%. Dogecoin (DOGE) rose 9.5% and Binance Coin (BNB) added 5%, with most major assets posting gains of more than 5%. This is being assessed as the broadest rally since before and after the Iran war.

Institutional inflows also appear to have contributed to the rebound. Last week, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded net inflows of about $767 million, extending the streak to three consecutive weeks. This marks a reversal from the net outflow trend of more than about $3 billion earlier this year.

The narrowing gap between Bitcoin’s returns and gold’s is also drawing attention. After underperforming gold earlier this year, Bitcoin has posted stronger returns than gold this month, with the correlation also showing improvement. As a result, the “digital gold” narrative is resurfacing.

In the market, the direction of US Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy is being cited as a key driver of near-term volatility. While the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to hold the policy rate steady at 3.5~3.75%, the dot plot and remarks by Chair Jerome Powell are expected to influence the trajectory of risk assets.

In particular, uncertainty over the policy path has increased as inflation pressure from rising international oil prices and cooling employment emerge at the same time. Markets are focusing less on the meeting outcome itself and more on signals about the future rate path.