Bitcoin mounted a fresh attempt to reclaim $70,000 on Wednesday but once again fell short, retreating to around $68,300 in early Thursday trading after sliding to an overnight low near $67,700 — a nearly 5% reversal from the session peak.
The move represented the most aggressive push toward $70,000 since the Feb. 5 downturn, though price action failed to confirm a decisive breakout.
The broader story unfolded in altcoins, which outpaced bitcoin throughout the session. Ethereum gained 8.5%, Solana advanced 6.9%, and Cardano jumped 10.8%. Dogecoin added 8.3%, while Bitcoin rose a comparatively modest 4.3%, ranking among the lighter performers in the top tier.
Such outperformance from higher-beta tokens typically reflects a return of risk appetite, as traders rotate into more volatile assets once they sense that forced liquidations and panic-driven selling are subsiding.
“The wave of forced selling is beginning to clear,” said Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack. “Altcoins are once again outperforming bitcoin, which points to rotation.”
The crypto rebound coincided with a lukewarm market reaction to earnings from Nvidia. Although the chipmaker exceeded expectations, the rally quickly faded. Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.3% after the announcement, and Nvidia shares pared most of their after-hours gains to trade just 0.2% higher.
Despite its status as the world’s most valuable listed company, Nvidia signaled caution around overheating conditions in parts of the artificial intelligence sector, cooling momentum in technology stocks that had been recovering over several sessions.
The macro backdrop remains fragile for digital assets. Trading firm Wintermute observed that cryptocurrencies have struggled alongside tech equities as capital rotates into defensive and tangible assets. Meanwhile, Matrixport cited stagnant stablecoin supply growth as a significant hurdle for bitcoin’s upside, and blockchain analytics provider Glassnode expects broader liquidity conditions to take at least six months to materially improve.
In the short term, signs of easing sell pressure have emerged. Data from CryptoQuant shows a slowdown in selling activity on Binance, supporting the argument for a tactical rebound. However, Bitrue warned that a sustained break below $60,000 could trigger a deeper decline toward $50,000–$55,000 — or even $47,000 if liquidation cascades intensify.
For now, the divergence between a short-term bounce and a still-uncertain medium-term trend remains unresolved, and bitcoin’s inability to firmly reclaim $70,000 highlights the market’s ongoing fragility
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