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Bitcoin traded near $72,000 as a nine-week bear flag approached its limit, with price action pressing against a descending trendline. Support at $71,400 remained in focus, while resistance near $74,000 capped the upside. At the same time, fresh U.S. inflation data and shifting rate expectations added pressure to an already narrow setup.
The short-term chart showed Bitcoin trying to stay above $71,400. If that level holds, price has a short path back to the descending bear market trendline. Just above that sits horizontal resistance near $74,000.
The setup left little room inside the flag. Bitcoin had already entered the seventh month of the broader downtrend, and the current structure looked close to a breaking point. Bulls still needed to keep momentum alive once the price reached the trendline.
The daily chart showed two separate bear flags and placed Bitcoin close to another retest of the market trendline. Even then, the pattern would remain active until price moved well above $80,000.
Volume at the bottom of the daily chart continued to taper. That pattern pointed to a possible large move building in the background. Meanwhile, the RSI stayed below its own downtrend line, leaving either a breakout or rejection in play.
On the weekly chart, Bitcoin sat near the end of the current bear flag, at least from the lower boundary. Both major flags had now stretched to 10 weeks. During the first flag, price had already started falling by this stage.
This time, price looked set to move in the other direction with three days left before the weekly close. Will bulls hold this level through Sunday and force a break above the descending trendline?
There also appeared to be room for one more weekly candle inside the flag. Still, if bulls keep price near current levels into Sunday, the next candle could open above the trendline. That would hand bulls a clearer technical advantage.
The weekly RSI offered a firmer signal than the lower time frames. Its indicator line remained above the downtrend line. Previous breaks of that line had coincided with sharp upward moves, so traders now watched whether that setup would survive into Sunday.
Outside the chart setup, U.S. inflation accelerated in March, driven mainly by rising energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 0.9% monthly CPI rise. That matched economist expectations and exceeded February’s 0.3% increase.
On a yearly basis, CPI rose 3.3%, in line with forecasts and above February’s 2.4% reading. Core CPI came in softer. It rose 0.2% in March, below the 0.3% forecast and equal to February’s pace. Annual core CPI reached 2.6%, below the 2.7% estimate.
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Bitcoin traded in a tight range near $72,000 before the report. After the data, it rose to $72,400. At the same time, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.3%, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield held flat at 4.29%.
Over recent weeks, markets moved away from pricing several Fed cuts this year. Instead, traders began to price in the chance of one or more hikes before shifting again toward no policy change. Before the CPI release, CME FedWatch showed a 99% chance of no change at the late-April meeting and a 97% chance of the same in mid-June.
Bitcoin remains trapped in a tightening bear flag as it holds near key support around $71,400 and approaches resistance near $74,000. Meanwhile, softer core CPI and steady Fed expectations added a fresh macro layer, leaving traders focused on whether Bitcoin can finally break the downtrend.
