Bitcoin erases recent gains, but higher-lows trend still in tact (Cryptocurrency:BTC-USD)

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) briefly fell to below $35K on Tuesday for the first time in about a week, though the price chart indicates the bull run is still in tact.

The highest-profile cryptocurrency retreated 3.9% to $35.3K at 3:37 p.m. ET, after reaching nearly $38K on Thursday amid growing optimism around a potential approval of a spot bitcoin (BTC-USD) exchange-traded fund.

Looking at a year-to-date chart of bitcoin (BTC-USD), it’s clear that the token’s price is making higher-lows, whereby a trough is higher than the preceding low. BTC started the year at around $16.7K.

“It’s worth noting that even in a bullish market there are often pullbacks after a significant uptrend, just like we are seeing here,” said Greg Moritz, chief operating officer and co-founder of crypto hedge fund AltTab Capital. “This is expected and part of a healthy market. The overall price action, the market sentiment, and the continued growth of institutional interest in crypto all remain bullish.”

BTC wasn’t alone in terms of intraday weakness. Ethereum (ETH-USD) slid 4.9% to $1.98K, XRP (XRP-USD) fell 12.3% and BNB (BNB-USD) -1.9%. Solana (SOL-USD) was one of the only major tokens by market cap that defied the wider market’s correction, rising 3.7%.

Crypto-linked stocks were mixed: Riot Platforms (RIOT) -0.9%, Marathon Digital (MARA) +0.3%, MicroStrategy (MSTR) -6.1%, Coinbase (COIN) +0.4%, and Bit Digital (BTBT) +5.7%.