Bitcoin’s surprise rebound to $81,180 — which was influenced by fake news regarding a pause on US tariffs — has all but evaporated following White House confirmation that 104% tariffs on China will start on April 9.

S&P 500 drops intra-day gains follow White House tariff confirmation. Source: X / Kobeissi Letter

After dropping below the $75,000 level for the first time since Nov. 6, 2024, BTC retested a key demand zone that traders hope will provide a safe haven for the bulls.

The safe haven is a fair value gap located between $77,000 and $73,400, and this zone was created during the November 2024 Trump pump.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe had earlier asserted that Bitcoin needed to retest this zone “before going back upward.”

“Bitcoin attacking $80,000 is a strong sign,” said van de Poppe in another X post on April 8, adding:

“I don’t know whether we’ll be having another drop or whether we’ve seen it all.”

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Michael van de Poppe

Fellow analyst Jelle shared similar sentiments, saying that Bitcoin’s close above $79,000 on April 7 after dropping as low as $74,400 was impressive compared to how equities performed.

“Waiting for the dust to settle – expecting the price to move higher once that happens.”

Related: Bitcoin may rival gold as inflation hedge over next decade — Adam Back

Bitcoin’s long-term holders’ activity spells doom for BTC price

Data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant now shows that the long-term holders (LTHs) — individuals and entities who have held Bitcoin for more than 155 days — could be preparing to sell their coins, particularly after the latest crash.

The Exchange Inflow Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) metric measures the volume of Bitcoin moved to exchanges, weighted by how long those coins were held dormant, indicating potential selling pressure from long-term holders.

There was a massive spike in this metric on April 7, signaling that the old coins are waking up, which is historically a bearish sign. 

A chart posted by a CryptoQuant contributor, IT Tech, in one of its “Quicktake” blog posts showed that when the metric spiked on April 2, Bitcoin price dropped from $88,000 to $81,000.

A similar spike was seen on March 27, preceding a 7% drop in price over two days.

Spotting a similar spike on April 7, the analyst wondered if Bitcoin’s long-term holders were “preparing to sell again?”

Bitcoin: Exchange Inflow CDD. Source: CryptoQuant

If history repeats itself, Bitcoin’s sell-off could continue for a few more days, with the March 2024 all-time high near $74,000 presenting the first line of defense.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Bitcoin (BTC) danced around $80,000 at the April 8 Wall Street open as US stock markets staged a fresh recovery, but unresolved tensions between China and the US continue to put a damper on BTC’s upside.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Hayes: Bitcoin can repeat historic China inflows

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price volatility cooling while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index gained up to 4.3% in the first few hours of trading.

Stocks built on a strong rebound that had accompanied the start of the week’s TradFi trading, alleviating fears of a 1987 “Black Monday” style crash. 

US trade tariffs nonetheless stayed top of the agenda for traders, who in particular eyed the ongoing war of words with China.

In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump claimed that Beijing “wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started.”

“We are waiting for their call,” he told readers.

Source: Truth Social

Bitcoin advocates eyed the devaluation of the yuan as part of China’s tariff response and the potential inflows to hedges such as BTC as a result.

“Xi’s major weapon is independent monetary policy which necessitates a weaker yuan,” Arthur Hayes, ex-CEO of crypto exchange BitMEX, wrote in part of X coverage of the topic.

Hayes suggested that either the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) or the US Federal Reserve would ultimately provide the fuel for a BTC price rally.

“If not the Fed then the PBOC will give us the yachtzee ingredients,” he argued in his characteristic style. 

“CNY deval = narrative that Chinese capital flight will flow into $BTC. It worked in 2013 , 2015, and can work in 2025. Ignore China at your own peril.”

USD/CNY 3-day chart. Source: Cointelelgraph/TradingView

The Fed, meanwhile, could boost Bitcoin and risk assets by lowering interest rates to stimulate growth. In a blog post on the day, AllianceBernstein predicted this happening even as tariffs added to inflationary pressures.

“If the economy slows, as we expect it will, the Fed will be inclined to cut rates even if price levels are high,” Eric Winograd, the firm’s Developed Market Economic Research director wrote. 

“The view is that actual inflation tells us what the economy was doing but not what it will do. The Fed has cut rates before with inflation elevated, and we expect it to do so again unless—a very big ‘unless’—inflation expectations become unanchored.”

Fed target rate probabilities (screenshot). Source: CME Group

Winograd said that AllianceBernstein expected 75 basis points of rate cuts in 2025, with the latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showing markets betting on the first of these coming at the Fed’s June meeting.

Related: $2T fake tariff news pump shows ‘market is ready to ape’

Fibonacci offers a “big level to watch” for BTC price

Considering the global market tumult of the last three days, Bitcoin’s price action has remained eerily cool on the shorter timeframes as snap price moves gave way to consolidation.

For traders, among the key levels to watch was the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement level, currently near $73,500.

“In a bull market, the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement acts as key support,” popular trader Titan of Crypto explained, describing BTC/USD as “in a reversal zone.”

“As long as BTC closes above it, the uptrend remains intact, even with a wick below.”

BTC/USD 1-month chart with Fibonacci levels. Source: Titan of Crypto/X

Fellow trader Daan Crypto Trades also underscored the level’s potential significance, with it coinciding with old all-time highs from March 2024.

“$BTC Has respected its .382 Fibonacci retracements, measured from the cycle bottom to the local tops, quite well so far,” he told X followers. 

“This is the 3rd time we get such a test this cycle. This time we got some confluence from the 2024 highs as well. Big level to watch.”

Other important trend lines, as Cointelegraph reported, include the 200-day simple moving average (SMA), a classic bull market support line that was lost when BTC first fell below $82,000.

BTC/USD 1-day chart with 200 SMA. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Binance is planning to delist 14 tokens from its platform on April 16 in a move designed to purge low-quality projects that do not adhere to the crypto exchange’s tighter listing requirements. 

The tokens are being delisted following a “comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors,” including the exchange’s first “vote to delist” results, where community members nominated projects with less than stellar metrics, Binance announced on April 8.

Other factors included the team’s commitment to the project, development activity, trading volume and liquidity, network stability, responsiveness to Binance’s due diligence requests and new regulatory requirements. 

The tokens selected for delisting are Badger (BADGER), Balancer (BAL), Beta Finance (BETA), Cream Finance (CREAM), Cortex (CTXF), Aaelf (ELF), Firo (FIRO), Kava Lend (HARD), NULS (NULS), Prosper (PROS), Status (SNT), TROY (TROY), UniLend (UFT) and VIDT DAO (VIDT).

Source: Binance

Binance has tightened its listing requirements over the past year in an attempt to boost investor protections. In March 2024, the company extended its so-called “cliff period” — or the length of time listed tokens can’t be sold — to at least one year, according to Bloomberg. 

Related: Binance co-founder clarifies asset listing policies, dispels FUD

As tokens proliferate, listing requirements tighten across the board

Binance isn’t the only cryptocurrency exchange to tighten its listing requirements amid increased regulatory scrutiny. Last October, Bitget announced an overhaul of its token listing process, prioritizing factors such as fully diluted valuation, investor lock-up periods and project business plans. 

In South Korea, crypto exchanges have also beefed up their listing requirements due to new regulations, which included limitations on tokens that have been traded domestically for less than two years.

Stringent listing requirements are also needed to weed out the flood of new tokens that are hitting the market every day.

In the wake of the memecoin mania, platforms like CoinMarketCap track a staggering 13.24 million cryptocurrencies. The actual number of cryptocurrencies far exceeds that level. 

Some analysts have argued that the oversupply of tokens partly explains why the long-awaited “altseason” never really took off this cycle. 

The surge in the number of cryptocurrencies may have diluted altseason. Source: Ali Martinez

“Today, there are over 36.4 million altcoins, compared to fewer than 3,000 during the 2017-2018 alt season and even fewer than 500 altcoins in 2013-2014,” crypto analyst Ali Martinez wrote on social media.

Magazine: 3 reasons Ethereum could turn a corner: Kain Warwick, X Hall of Flame