Bitcoin extended its pullback on April 28, dropping to $76,460 after peaking at $79,321 on April 23. Binance data cited in the source showed a 24-hour high of $79,438 before the move lower, with Bitcoin later trading at $77,357, down 2.58% over the day. Ethereum fell harder, sliding from $2,400 to $2,266 and breaking below the $2,300 level before recovering to $2,307. Its 24-hour loss stood at 3.77%.
$337.88 million in liquidations hit leveraged longs
CoinGlass figures in the report put total crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours at $337.88 million, affecting 97,943 traders. Long positions made up the bulk of the damage. Long liquidations reached $276.63 million, while shorts accounted for $61.24 million, leaving longs responsible for 81.9% of the total. In the previous 12 hours alone, liquidations were already at $207.71 million, including $170.27 million from longs. The largest single liquidation happened on Binance’s BTCUSDT contract and was valued at $7.69 million. In the most recent hour, liquidations dropped to just $2.38 million, with shorts slightly ahead, suggesting the immediate selloff had eased.
Fed meeting caution, stalled Iran talks and ETF debate weigh on risk assets
The source attributed the drop to three overlapping pressures. One was caution ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting scheduled for April 28–29, with the decision due early April 30 Beijing time. Polymarket showed a 99.9% expectation that rates would remain unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%. The concern described in the report was not a surprise hike, but the possibility of a hawkish tone. It also pointed to March CPI returning to 3.3% year over year and Q4 GDP at only 0.5%.
Another factor was geopolitical tension. The report said nuclear talks between the United States and Iran had stalled, while tensions around the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil to as high as $107 per barrel. That shift in risk appetite sent money toward physical commodities and away from crypto. A third pressure point came from skepticism around spot Bitcoin ETFs. April inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs were listed at $2.43 billion, bringing cumulative inflows to $55.9 billion. Even so, some analysts argued those ETF bids may be acting as exit liquidity for short-term holders rather than fresh long-term allocation.
Altcoins weaken while institutional buying continues
Other major tokens also moved lower. Solana was quoted at $84.77, down 3.27% in 24 hours, after touching $83.63. XRP traded at $1.3984, down 3.05%, with a session low of $1.3836. At the same time, the report noted continued institutional accumulation. Strategy bought another 3,273 BTC, pushing its holdings above 818,000 BTC. Bitmine purchased 100,000 ETH last week, taking its total above 5 million ETH, or 4.2% of circulating supply. ConsenSys and founder Joseph Lubin also transferred 30,000 ETH to DeFi United to help address bad debt tied to Aave.
Fear and Greed Index drops to 33 as traders watch the $76,000 zone
Sentiment turned sharply lower. The Fear and Greed Index fell from 47 to 33 in a day, moving from neutral back into fear. The report also highlighted a divergence with U.S. equities. On April 27, the S&P 500 rose 0.12% to 7,173.91 and the Nasdaq gained 0.20% to 24,887.10, both record closes, while the Dow slipped 0.13%. In crypto, the source identified $76,000 to $76,460 as a key near-term support area for Bitcoin, with resistance clustered between $79,000 and $80,000.