Bitcoin Slides Near $77K as Hawkish Fed, 2022 Bear Echo and Nakamoto Split Hit

Bitcoin News

The Federal Reserve's April 28-29 meeting minutes landed with a sharper hawkish tone than markets had braced for, with policymakers debating whether to scrap the easing bias entirely and a majority signaling further hikes could be needed if inflation proves sticky. The session produced four dissents — the most since 1992 — exposing a deep policy split. Stephen Miran pushed for a 25-basis-point cut, while Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan opposed leaving easing language on the table. Officials flagged energy prices, tariffs and Middle East tensions as inflation risks, complicating Bitcoin's near-term path.

On-chain analytics highlight a striking parallel between Bitcoin's current chart and the March 2022 cycle. The rebound from April lows climbed roughly 37% before stalling at the 200-day moving average near $82,400, then unwinding back to the mid-$76,000s. Analysts note that in 2022, a 43% relief rally hit the same indicator before resuming the downtrend, with the 200-day moving average repeatedly acting as the dividing line between recovery and continuation. A failure to reclaim that level is being treated as the strongest technical confirmation that the broader bear market structure remains intact.

Spot Bitcoin ETF products in the United States have flipped from accumulators into net sellers, a meaningful shift after weeks of steady inflows had cushioned the tape. Funds offloaded roughly 4,000 BTC on a net basis after absorbing nearly 64,000 BTC over the prior 30-day window, suggesting institutional buyers are now realizing gains or trimming exposure rather than adding to it. Speculative demand in perpetual futures, which fueled much of the April-May advance, also faded sharply once price cleared $82,000 and leveraged longs began closing out, leaving spot bids thinner just as macro headwinds intensified.

Bitcoin-treasury firm Nakamoto Inc, trading under the NAKA ticker on Nasdaq, will execute a 1-for-40 reverse stock split on Friday in an effort to lift its share price back above the $1 minimum listing threshold. The action will compress outstanding shares from about 696.1 million to 17.4 million, with fractional positions paid out in cash. NAKA briefly slid 17% to $0.14 on the announcement before steadying near $0.16, a roughly 99.5% collapse from the $29 high reached last May following the KindlyMD merger. The firm still holds 5,058 bitcoin worth close to $391 million.

Hunter Biden's official website now carries a "BITCOIN ACCEPTED" notice in the footer alongside a Verisart authentication partnership, signaling that the artist and son of the former U.S. president will take direct BTC payments for his floral paintings. Verisart provides blockchain-anchored certificates of provenance for both physical and digital works. The move follows a sharp downturn in his art sales — court filings earlier this year disclosed he had moved only a single painting for $36,000 since late 2023 — and adds another high-profile name to the list of independent sellers routing transactions through Bitcoin rather than traditional payment rails.

Broader sentiment metrics reinforce the cautious tone visible in price action. The Bull Score Index, a composite gauge of network health and market conditions, has slid from 40 back to 20, a reading classified as extremely bearish and matching the February-March stretch when Bitcoin briefly traded between $60,000 and $66,000. The Coinbase Bitcoin Price Premium also remained negative through both the recent rally and the pullback, an unusual signal that U.S. demand has not meaningfully re-engaged. Historically, sustained bull market cycles coincide with a positive Coinbase premium, with $70,000 now flagged as the key downside support.

Bitcoin trades near $77,632, up about 1% on the day but technically still trapped in a sideways structure with a bearish MACD reading and an RSI at 47.91 — neutral but tilted toward exhaustion. Immediate support sits at $76,812, with deeper floors at $75,080 and $72,673; reclaiming $78,592 is the first hurdle before $80,474 and the $82,850 ceiling come back into play. A clean break above $80,474 on rising volume would reopen the bullish case, while a daily close below $75,080 would validate the 2022 bear-market parallel and likely accelerate flows toward the $72,000 zone.