Bitcoin retreats toward $38K after Friday sparks losses for 'nearly everything' outside China

cointelegraph.com:

Bitcoin (BTC) fell into the May holiday weekend after late trading saw crypto losses echo "basically everything."

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reversing at $38,180 on Bitstamp to circle $38,600 on April 30. 

The pair had performed weakly during Friday, this nonetheless echoing the vast majority of traditional assets — with the notable exception of Chinese equities.

"Almost everything went down today besides gold, platinum, and Chinese stocks," economist Lyn Alden summarized.

With that, the S&P 500 finished Friday down 3.6% and the Nasdaq 100 down 4.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, on the other hand, gained 4% overall.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), despite wobbling after hitting twenty-year highs, further failed to offer respite as it began to consolidate near its two-decade peak.

"Would be pretty hard to rally price against a macro bear market in the short term. It’s what happens after a correction that counts," statistician Willy Woo argued as part of a Twitter debate.

Yield curve control is also being watched as a major watershed moment not just for crypto but for the economies ruled by governments who instigate it. 

"YCC is the end game," ex-BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes forecast in his latest blog post released last week.

Explaining why BTC/USD continues to stay in a range, meanwhile, Woo said that events could be mimicking Q4 2020 — just before Bitcoin broke out of what was then a three-year trading range.

Related: Trader flags BTC price levels to watch as Bitcoin still risks $30K 'ultimate bottom'

"Bitcoin price is sideways because of Wall St is selling futures contract in a macro risk-off trade. Meanwhile institutional money is scooping spot BTC at peak rates and moving to cold storage," he wrote.