Bitcoin (BTC) price recovers, but remains range-bound between $82,000 and $86,000

Bitcoin's been stuck in a tight range between $82,000 and $86,000, even as macroeconomic tensions have finally started to ease

Bitcoin’s price hovered in a tight range on Monday, failing to break above the crucial $85,000 resistance despite macroeconomic tensions easing.

The lack of progress in US technology tariff discussions kept traders cautious, even as market sentiment improved slightly from last week’s levels of extreme fear.

Bitcoin was trading at $84,102 at press time, showing a slight 0.4% increase over the last 24 hours.

On the other hand, the total cryptocurrency market capitalisation saw a modest recovery of 5% over the weekend.

This rebound was largely driven by Bitcoin’s price movements, as altcoins continued to lag despite a 0.9% drop in the altcoin market cap to about $1.1 trillion in the past 24 hours.

Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped by 14 points in the past week to reach 38 on Monday, suggesting that while sentiment has improved from last week’s levels of extreme fear, bulls still have yet to gain a strong foothold.

Key takeaways:

* Bitcoin’s price remained largely range-bound, struggling to break above the $85,000 resistance.

* Macroeconomic tensions eased after a week of uncertainty.

* Altcoins continued to lag despite the crypto market capitalisation recovering.

* Market sentiment showed signs of improvement but remained low.

* Lack of clarity on US technology tariffs kept traders cautious.

Bitcoin faces resistance at key Ichimoku level

The key reason that is currently dictating the market sentiment remains the discussions around US technology tariffs and the uncertainty surrounding them.

Bitcoin saw a brief rally on April 11 after President Trump announced tariff exemptions for tech products like semiconductors, smartphones, and computers.

The news initially lifted market sentiment, especially since crypto mining and blockchain infrastructure rely heavily on global tech supply chains.

However, that optimism faded quickly. Just two days later, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified that the relief was only temporary.

President Trump later confirmed that actual tariff rates would be announced next week, adding that there could be flexibility for some companies.

Lack of clarity means any sharp move in Bitcoin’s price is on hold, at least until there’s more transparency on what these tariffs will actually look like and how they’ll impact the broader tech ecosystem tied to crypto.

On Myriad Markets, a prediction platform, traders aren’t fully convinced of an immediate breakout either; only 52% expect BTC to remain above $85,000 by Wednesday’s close, reflecting the broader uncertainty surrounding tariff developments.

Looking at the daily Bitcoin charts, Bitcoin seemed to be pushing up against the lower boundary of the Ichimoku Cloud, a widely used indicator that maps out potential support and resistance zones.

Right now, that cloud is acting like a ceiling, capping Bitcoin’s upside around the same $85K level that’s been a problem since early February.

The last two times Bitcoin got rejected at this level, most recently on April 2 and earlier on February 21, it resulted in sharp pullbacks, both of which dragged BTC all the way down to around $75,000. See below.

That makes the current setup tricky for bulls. While there’s growing interest in long positions in the options market, the proximity to this cloud resistance means the risk-reward isn’t exactly favourable.

Bitcoin needs to decisively close above $85,679. A daily close above this level would mean breaking out of the cloud, which is typically seen as a bullish confirmation in Ichimoku analysis.

Some market analysts, however, see signs of growing strength.

Prominent commentator Rekt Capital highlighted that Bitcoin had flipped its multi-month downtrend line into support for the first time after several failed attempts earlier this year. See below.

If the retest holds, it may help Bitcoin build momentum to challenge the $85,679 resistance and break above the Ichimoku Cloud.

However, for a bullish confirmation, $90K remains the key resistance that needs to be broken, according to fellow analyst DonAlt.

He pointed out that if Bitcoin manages to clear the $90,000 level, a key psychological resistance level, especially alongside a more dovish stance from the White House on tariffs, it could trigger what he described as a “full send.”

Amid this backdrop, long-term targets for Bitcoin remain well above $100K. For instance, Strategy founder Michael Saylor said over the weekend that Bitcoin could be gearing up for a run toward $125,000.

Altcoins lag despite crypto market capitalisation recovering

The total cryptocurrency market capitalisation saw a modest recovery of 5%