A short-lived spike to $84,000 early Wednesday faded within the hour, leaving bitcoin down 0.5% at about $83,200. The digital asset remains locked between its 50-day moving average near $81,000 and a ceiling at $84,000, a range that has held for days.
The 50-day moving average – bitcoin's average closing price over the past 50 days – acted as support on Tuesday, when buyers defended the $81,000 level after a brief dip. However, they have so far failed to break decisively above $84,000.
Among major tokens, ZEC and TRX were the only gainers, up about 1%. HYPE was the laggard, falling 2% to about $81. SOL declined 1.4%, and ether slipped 1% to just under $2,500, according to CoinDesk data.
Bitcoin trades close to the Nasdaq 100 in how institutions rank risk, and "the latter's caution is preventing Bitcoin from spreading its wings," said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro.
Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed, and an exchange-traded fund tracking chipmakers pointed to another day of selling even after ASML rose more than 2% in Europe. The chip-equipment maker said it cannot fully meet demand for the next two years. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are due to report later Wednesday, and forecasts point to the September US inflation report showing a slowdown in underlying prices.
A daily close above $84,000 would be the first sign that buyers have broken out of the range.