Bitcoin was volatile on Tuesday as the largest digital asset failed to break through the $77,000 level on geopolitical tensions between the United States (US) and Iran.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was at $76,654, down 0.13% since it opened early Wednesday in Asian trading.
Bitcoin traded in a range of $76,200 to $77,245 before stabilizing around $76,750.
Despite recording a daily gain of 0.7%, the cryptocurrency is still down nearly 5% over the past week with a market value of around $1.54 trillion.
Market sentiment initially received a boost after US President Donald Trump postponed a planned attack on Iran.
The announcement pushed Bitcoin past $77,000 twice, but the buying momentum failed to hold.
Market data showed Bitcoin began to decline gradually after breaking above $77,200 for the second time at around 3:49 a.m. EST before falling to a daily low of $76,181 about eight hours later.
A quick bounce brought the price back to $76,900, but selling pressure caused it to fall back to around $76,750.
Geopolitical tensions rose again after media reports said Iran had submitted a new proposal with tougher demands.
The situation became more tense when reports emerged that Trump had set a weekend deadline for Iran to reach an agreement, raising concerns about the possibility of military conflict.
The impact of the uncertainty also weighed on the US stock market, with the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices moving into the red ahead of the close.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices remained near $105 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s sideways movement caused the number of leveraged positions liquidated to fall significantly.
Coinglass data shows that of the $37.6 million in leveraged positions liquidated, $17.3 million involved long positions. That's significantly lower than the roughly $223 million in long positions liquidated on Monday.
Liquidation in the crypto market hit more than $175 million, down sharply from more than $800 million recorded on May 18.
