Bitcoin’s Wild Ride: $97K, Then Back to $96K, and Cardano’s Surprise Win?

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What to know:

  • Bitcoin flirted with $97,000, then dropped to $96,500—thanks India-Pakistan drama.
  • The U.S.-China trade talks had a moment of hope, then poof—India had a meltdown.
  • Traders are betting Bitcoin will keep jumping like a trampoline because, apparently, it’s a “safe” bet now.

Bitcoin had a wild ride late Tuesday, hitting a sweet $97,000 before crashing back to $96,500 in the wee hours of Wednesday. Why? Oh, just the usual—India decided to drop some bombs on Pakistan, turning up the heat on an already sizzling geopolitical mess. Nothing says ‘stable investment’ like an international crisis, right? 🙄

Meanwhile, some planned meeting about U.S.-China trade tariffs sent risk assets soaring, but that joy ride was quickly derailed as news of India’s “Operation Sindoor” spread like wildfire. Classic, right? 🙄

Traders? They’re preparing for more chaos. Bitcoin’s now considered some kind of ‘safe haven’—or, you know, as ‘safe’ as anything can be when the world’s basically a tinderbox. Fingers crossed. 🤞

Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message, “Markets are all over the place. Bitcoin’s going up, then down, then up again because of the India-Pakistan showdown. Add to that the U.S.-China talks, and you’ve got a cocktail of unpredictable market shenanigans.” Yeah, sounds about right.

“No one expected this upward movement,” Ruck added. Yeah, tell me about it. We’re all surprised here, pal. People were hoping the Fed would make up its mind on interest rates, but who cares about that when you can have some good old geopolitical tension, huh? 🍿

Oh, and then there’s Cardano’s ADA, which pulled off the most unexpected victory in the altcoin race, tacking on a solid 3% over 24 hours. Who saw that coming? Definitely not me. Meanwhile, Dogecoin, XRP, BNB Chain’s BNB, and even ether (ETH) barely managed to scrape together 2%. But hey, don’t count out Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC), which exploded by as much as 10%. I mean, sure, they’re old news, but a little surge never hurt anyone, right?

The CoinDesk 20 (CD20)—you know, that nifty index tracking the biggest tokens—added nearly 2%. So, yay for index funds, I guess? Better than nothing.

Some traders are also pointing out Bitcoin’s recent rally is matched by a sharp uptick in active addresses. Ah, yes, the good old “wallet activity” indicator. Sure, it’s a good sign—until it isn’t. But hey, let’s roll with it for now. Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, mentioned Bitcoin’s active addresses are nearing a six-month high. If that doesn’t scream “coming volatility,” I don’t know what does. 🙃

Lee thinks we might be headed toward a glorious $100K, but, you know, don’t hold your breath. Multiple factors have to align for that, like a cosmic alignment of the stars and good vibes. But hey, it’s Bitcoin—anything’s possible, right?

“Keep an eye on Bitcoin dominance, which is creeping toward 55%,” Lee added, “and also Bitcoin’s hash rate. Ethereum? Well, it’s still playing catch-up, stuck in a narrow range. But you do you, ETH.”

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2025-05-07 11:12