Bitcoin (BTC) Recovers From Early Losses to End April With Gains of Over 14%

Leading cryptocurrencies were muted on Wednesday even as negative GDP growth stoked recession concerns.

Cryptocurrencies displayed muted activity on Wednesday despite the U.S. economy slipping into negative territory in the first quarter, stoking concerns over a potential recession.

Leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin experienced a decline below $92,000 in the early trading hours following the announcement of the GDP contraction. However, it later recovered to reach the mid-$94,000 range by the evening.

Meanwhile, Ethereum also reversed early losses to close in the green.

Together, the top cryptocurrencies lost about $343 million in liquidations over 24 hours, with longs liquidations exceeding shorts liquidations by $211 million.

The Open Interest for Bitcoin decreased by 0.69% in the last 24 hours, although April saw a 18% increase in money flowing into Bitcoin derivatives. Furthermore, over 50% of Binance traders who had open BTC positions were bearish on the asset.

The cryptocurrency market sentiment, as measured by the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, shifted from "Greed" to "Neutral."

Top Gainer (24 Hour)

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.95 trillion, showing a minor decrease of 0.27% in the last 24 hours.

On Wednesday, major U.S. stock averages showed gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 141.74 points, or 0.35%, to close at 40,669.36. The S&P 500 also went up 0.15%, finishing at 5,569.06. On the other hand, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite experienced a slight decrease of 0.09%, closing at 17,446.34.

On Wednesday, Wall Street experienced volatility as the U.S. economy slipped into negative territory with the first-quarter GDP contracting by 0.3%, heightening fears of a recession. Additionally, private employers added 62,000 jobs in April, marking the lowest since July 2024 and falling short of predictions for 108,000.

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Analyst Notes: According to blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant, Bitcoin's realized capitalization reached a new all-time high, exceeding $880 billion.

"Historically, large accumulations of realized capitalization have mostly been followed by considerable price increases in Bitcoin," explained CryptoQuant. If the accumulations continue, we might witness an 'explosion' in the price."

Realized capitalization is the total acquisition cost of all coins in circulation, whereas market capitalization uses the current price.

Cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez highlighted $95,870 as a crucial level for Bitcoin, with a breach potentially leading to a rally towards new all-time highs.

"If Bitcoin breaks and holds above $95,870, the next key target, based on the MVRV Pricing Bands, is $114,230," Martinez stated.

MVRV, an abbreviation for Market Value to Realized Value, is a ratio used to evaluate the value of a cryptocurrency by comparing its current market value to its realized value.