Bitcoin stalls near $78,000 as US selling rises before Nvidia

Bitcoin stalled near $78,000 on Wednesday after reaching $77,678 on Bitstamp before the U.S. trading session opened. The price slipped as U.S. traders sold off ahead of Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings. The Coinbase Premium index fell to its lowest level since February, reflecting a larger price gap between Coinbase’s BTC/USD pair and Binance’s BTC/USDT pair.

Trading data showed BTC/USD hit $77,678 and then pulled back as broader market sentiment turned cautious. The S&P 500 fell about 1.3% before recovering, with investors watching Nvidia’s quarterly report as a potential trigger for volatility in tech stocks and related assets.

Some analysts described the Nvidia release as the biggest earnings event of the quarter, noting a small group of large technology companies has driven recent S&P 500 gains while geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns have weighed on risk appetite.

CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha wrote that spot Bitcoin demand remains soft and that the Coinbase premium gap stood near -$66.8, wider than a late-March reading of about -$62.6 when Bitcoin was trading near $68,000.

Technical commentary noted Bitcoin’s weekly close fell below the 21-week exponential moving average. Trader and analyst Rekt Capital wrote that the 21-week EMA could become resistance on any rebound after Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the level in late April and then lost it again during the pullback.

Trading activity showed short-term volatility around key levels rather than a decisive directional shift. Market participants are watching how Nasdaq and large-cap tech performance around Nvidia’s release influence crypto flows and whether the Coinbase discount versus USDT pairs prompts further selling or creates arbitrage opportunities.

Earlier in the week Bitcoin benefited from bullish momentum during the first two trading days but met headwinds when U.S. market sentiment cooled. The rejection at the 21-week EMA and the wider Coinbase discount occurred while Bitcoin traded substantially higher than in late March.