Bitcoin steadies near $77,500 as crypto market jumps

Bitcoin traded in a narrow range Friday, stabilizing near $77,500 after a midnight surge and an intraday high of $77,604. Trading data show a rapid jump from about $76,700 to $77,200 in under an hour shortly after midnight, then a rise to $77,555 before a sell-off pushed the price back to about $76,900 by 10:15 a.m. EST. The pattern repeated and bitcoin reached $77,604 around 11:24 a.m., then retreated to just above $77,000 an hour later. At 1:26 p.m. EST the coin was trading near $77,500.

The price action added roughly 0.5% to bitcoin’s value, lifting its market capitalization to about $1.55 trillion and reducing its seven-day decline to 2.5% from 4.8% a week earlier. The broader cryptocurrency market cap rose by roughly $20 billion to about $2.66 trillion, up from about $2.64 trillion a day earlier.

Energy markets moved during the session. West Texas Intermediate crude fell to $97 per barrel from near $105, and Brent slipped almost 6% to just under $105. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a negotiated settlement to ease tensions in the U.S.-Iran conflict; oil prices fell amid those developments.

The drop in oil prices coincided with a pullback in bond yields. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield eased modestly after several days of selling. European and U.S. equities also posted modest gains during the same period.

Leverage-related liquidations were limited for bitcoin. Exchanges reported about $38 million in bitcoin liquidations, with short positions accounting for 61% of that total, or about $21.8 million. The largest single bitcoin liquidation was about $3.97 million. Across the broader crypto market, liquidations totaled roughly $184.5 million, with liquidated shorts making up nearly $105 million of that amount.

Traders are watching whether bitcoin can hold above $77,600 and attract additional buying in coming sessions.