Bitcoin stalls near $74K; Bitfinex flags STRC supply squeeze

Bitcoin traded around $74,000 on April 15 after retreating from a $76,000 resistance level. The market spent much of the day between $74,000 and $74,800, falling to an intraday low of $73,617 at about 3:44 a.m. EDT before a brief rally to $74,400 and a subsequent reversal. By 1 p.m. EDT the price was just under $74,000, leaving 24-hour gains just below 2% and reducing market capitalization from $1.52 trillion on Tuesday to about $1.48 trillion.

Bitfinex analysts identified a single persistent buyer as the main driver of the recent price strength. In a blog post they reported that Strategy used a perpetual preferred stock product, STRC, to buy 13,927 BTC at an average price of $71,902.

The analysts described STRC as a “liquidity sink” that removed coins from circulation and compressed available supply. “This was not a broad-based expansion in demand, but a mechanically driven supply squeeze led by a single, price-insensitive buyer,” they wrote.

With daily mining output near 450 BTC, Bitfinex estimated Strategy’s purchases have the effect of removing the equivalent of nearly 2,000 BTC per day from the market. The exchange warned the squeeze is approaching its limits and added that “a spot-led daily close above $75,000 will confirm the durability of this leg beyond the STRC pause.” The analysts cautioned that failure to hold that level would likely push bitcoin back into the $70,000 to $71,000 range.

Global equity indexes were mostly flat on Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi rose about 123 points, or 2 percent. Reports of possible renewed talks between the U.S. and Iran lifted some investor optimism, while Iran’s threats to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait served as a reminder of ongoing geopolitical risk for markets.

Traders are monitoring whether bitcoin can secure a spot-led daily close above $75,000 in the coming sessions to determine if the rally can continue without being driven primarily by STRC purchases.