Bitcoin Slides to $66,500 as Profit Booking, Macro Risks Weigh on Sentiment

Bitcoin traded near $66,500 (roughly Rs. 62.15 lakh) on Thursday as the cryptocurrency market faced renewed pressure amid profit booking and rising macroeconomic uncertainty. The world's largest cryptocurrency declined 2.80 percent in the past 24 hours. Analysts said the pullback follows a brief rally toward higher levels, with sentiment turning cautious as investors react to global developments. Ethereum traded near $2,000 (roughly Rs. 1.91 lakh), indicating weakness across the broader crypto market. Bitcoin is currently priced around Rs. 62 lakh in India, while Ethereum trades near Rs. 1.9 lakh, as per today's price tracker.

Analysts noted that recent inflows of $186 million (roughly Rs. 1,736 crore) have helped stabilise prices, even as short-term investors continue to book profits. However, mixed ETF flows and elevated macro risks are limiting upside, with key economic events and geopolitical tensions keeping sentiment fragile.

Altcoin Prices Drop Alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum

On Thursday, Binance Coin (BNB) was priced around $590.76 (roughly Rs. 55,152), down 4.29 percent, while other altcoins like Solana (SOL) traded near $79.15 (roughly Rs. 7,390), with a 5.84 percent drop. XRP hovered around $1.31 (roughly Rs. 122), down 2.54 percent, and Dogecoin (DOGE) saw its value drop by 3.53 percent, to $0.08 (roughly Rs. 8.39).

Explaining the current market setup, Akshat Siddhant, Lead Quant Analyst at Mudrex, said, “Market activity may remain slow due to the Easter period, which usually sees lower trading volumes. If selling continues, Bitcoin could test the $65,000 (roughly Rs. 60.69 lakh) level. A move above $69,000 (roughly Rs. 64.43 lakh) will be important to keep the upward trend intact.”

Sharing his market assessment, Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.com, said, “Bitcoin is hovering near $67,000 (roughly Rs. 62.56 lakh) and the market is trading without conviction. Three forces are seen in action at once. These are: ETF demand has turned mixed. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have moved from a $117.5 million (roughly Rs. 1,097 crore) net inflow on March 31 to net outflows on April 1. Second, macro risk has risen ahead of the US jobs report on April 3, CPI on April 10, and the Fed's April 28-29 meeting. Third, the Middle-East conflict has pushed Brent above $100 (roughly Rs. 9,337). This has revived inflation concerns and also tightened liquidity expectations [...] Investors should avoid chasing short-term moves, keep position sizes measured, and use staggered buying rather than lump-sum risk until the macro picture becomes clearer.”

Weighing in on broader market conditions, CoinSwitch Markets Desk said, “Just as global markets seemed to be stabilising, fresh escalation signals from Donald Trump indicating conflict could extend through end-April unsettled sentiment across assets [...] In the near term, price action is likely to stay driven by macro headlines with stronger cross-asset linkages.”

Overall, analysts said the market remains sensitive to macro developments and shifting investor positioning, with price action likely to stay volatile in the near term. Bitcoin's next move will depend on whether buying support strengthens or if broader economic pressures continue to weigh on sentiment.