Bitcoin Rallies 6% to Near 80,000 on Sentiment Rebound

Bitcoin's price rallied nearly 6 percent on Wednesday, pushing it close to the 80,000 mark and driving a sharp improvement in overall cryptocurrency market sentiment. The Alternative.me Crypto Fear Greed Index surged 14 points to 46, its highest reading since January 18 and the largest single-day increase in more than three months. The index, which gauges investor psychology based on factors like volatility, social media activity, and search trends, remains in the fear zone but reflects a rebound from its record low of 5 on February 23.

The cryptocurrency's advance saw Bitcoin climb to about 79,400 over a roughly 20-hour period before pulling back slightly to around 77,900, according to market data trackers. Analysts attributed the momentum primarily to strong demand in the perpetual futures market, where traders bet on price movements without owning the underlying asset. Julio Moreno, head of research at on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, noted in a social media post that the rally was "completely driven by demand in perpetuals." However, he cautioned that spot market demand, which involves direct purchases of the cryptocurrency, has been contracting gradually. "A market...