Bitcoin dropped below $79,000 on September 8 as fading buying pressure and a dense cluster of leveraged positions near $78,000 raised the odds of a slide toward $76,000. The pullback coincided with fresh U.S.-Iran military exchanges pushing oil back near $100 a barrel, adding inflation pressure a week before the Federal Reserve's next rate decision.
Bitcoin tests $78,000 as buying pressure fades
Bitcoin (traded near $78,450, down about 1% over the previous 24 hours, after another failed push above $80,000 left sellers defending the $81,000-$82,000 zone. On the 4-hour chart, BTC reached an intraday high near $78,995 before falling as low as $78,281, holding just above the Supertrend level at $78,204.
The Chaikin Money Flow indicator fell to -0.10 on the same timeframe, a negative reading that shows more capital leaving Bitcoin than entering it. The pullback also flipped the former $79,500 support into resistance; according to analyst Crypto with Haris B, $78,000 is showing signs of weakness, with $76,000 as the next local target if that floor fails.
Geopolitical tension adds to the pressure
The decline also tracks a broader risk-off move. Crypto prices are sliding as fresh U.S.-Iran attacks followed weekend military exchanges that pushed oil prices back near $100 a barrel, heightening inflation concerns ahead of the Fed's meeting. Bitcoin opened at $79,093.85 on Tuesday, 1.6% below Monday's opening price, before slipping to $78,370.62 as of 7:20 a.m. ET.
Markets now put a 60% probability on a Fed rate increase at next week's meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Higher rates are a headwind for Bitcoin because it pays no interest to holders.
Liquidation clusters keep $78,000 in focus
CoinGlass' three-day liquidation heatmap shows leveraged positions concentrated close to $78,000, with the strongest band above the market around $80,500-$80,700 and additional liquidity between $81,000 and $82,000. A break through the nearby cluster could trigger forced closures of long positions and expose thinner liquidity near $77,500, with the next visible support at $76,000.
Despite the short-term weakness, Bitcoin still trades above its 20-, 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages, and its average directional index stood at 48.35, pointing to a strong underlying trend. Analyst Dami-Defi described the move as a pullback within an uptrend, noting a 4-hour close below the rising trendline would weaken that structure, while a break above $81,000-$82,000 could restart the advance.
Sources: crypto.news, Yahoo Finance
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