Bitcoin Slides to $78K Support as Treasury Yields and Inflation Fears Squeeze Risk Assets

Bitcoin has retreated from a failed push above $82,000 to test the $78,000 support zone, with rising US Treasury yields and persistent inflation fears continuing to weigh on risk assets. Options traders are actively hedging downside exposure, a positioning shift that paradoxically clears the technical path for a near-term relief bounce.

The critical level to watch is just below current price: if $78,000 fails to hold, macro pressure opens a direct route toward $75,000, where the next meaningful support cluster sits. Treasury yields have extended a two-day correction, keeping the macro backdrop hostile for speculative assets heading into May 2026.

The options market's hedging activity is a double-edged signal — it reflects genuine fear of further downside, but heavy put positioning also means a squeeze higher becomes more likely if yields stabilise and spot BTC holds its ground.