Bitcoin (BTC) Price Dips Below $103,000 as Investors Take Profits

Bitcoin wiggled between $103,000 and $104,000 throughout the day, even as trading volume for the coin dipped nearly 12% in the last 24 hours.

Leading cryptocurrencies slid on Wednesday as they clocked recent advances, while the S&P 500 extended its gains.

How Has The Crypto Market Performed Today?

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price wiggled between $103,000 and $104,000 throughout the day, even as trading volume for the coin dipped nearly 12% in the last 24 hours.

The apex cryptocurrency is now testing key resistance at the 92.68% Fibonacci retracement level of the 2023 price move. A break above this level could open the door for a move to the 100% Fibonacci retracement level at around $108,000, according to Benzinga Pro.

The apex cryptocurrency also clocked a 1.87% decrease in Open Interest, while bets against the cryptocurrency in the Binance derivatives market stayed above the 50% mark.

The magnitude of "Greed" sentiment fell from 73 to 70, according to the Crypto Fear and Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24-Hours)

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $3.34 trillion, following a dip of 1.90% in the last 24 hours.

What's New In The Crypto Market

On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant noted that Bitcoin's rally has resulted in a renewed interest among retail investors.

Retail investors are those with balances ranging from $0 to $10,000.

"From April 28th, when this trend turned positive, until May 13th, there has been a +3.40% increase in purchases by this group," CryptoQuant said. "As they enter the market, they tend to create a positive feedback loop, reinforcing bullish narratives and increasing buying pressure."

This Point Of View

Cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez warned of a "brief pullback" for the leading cryptocurrency, citing an overbought Relative Strength Index.

"The RSI on the 4-hour chart is approaching overbought levels, suggesting that a brief pullback could be in sight to allow the RSI to cool down and prevent any divergence," said Martinez in a note.

"However, the strong bullish momentum could continue driving prices higher, aiming for the next resistance at the 100% Fibonacci retracement level at around $108,000."

On the other hand, Ethereum slipped below $2,600 in a wave of profit-taking after the second-largest cryptocurrency pushed beyond a 10-week high of $2,700 the day before.

The Spatial Web token slid over 15% after clocking a 24-hour gain of more than 76%. The token is now trading at around $0.215.

The S&P 500 Extended Gains As Nvidia Stock Soared

The S&P 500 extended its gains on Wednesday. The broad-based index rose 0.10% to close at 5,892.58, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 0.72% to end at 19,146.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for the second straight day, losing 89.37 points, or 0.21%, to end at 42,051.06.

Nvidia Corp. NVDA contributed to the tech rally, jumping more than 4% on news that it would export semiconductor chips to Saudi Arabia.

The move comes amid heightened U.S. scrutiny of investments in China, particularly in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The administration of President Joe Biden is expected to announce new measures as early as this week to restrict U.S. private equity and venture capital investments in specific technology sectors in China, according to reports.

The S&P 500 Index extended gains to a 10th day of advance in the past 11, reaching a new all-time high. The index is up more than 17% year-to-date. The Nasdaq Composite also reached a new high. Both indexes were boosted by strong performance in the technology sector.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is set to begin a two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at the meeting, which would take the target range for the policy rate to 5.0%-5.25%.

The central bank has already undertaken the most aggressive series of rate hikes since the 1980s to combat inflation, which reached a 40-year high last year. It began raising rates in March 2022 from the near-zero levels that had prevailed since the COVID-1