Bitcoin returns to test $40K as macro factors pile up to squash BTC bulls

Bitcoin (BTC) bended to new macro pressures on March 4 after bulls failed to hold $42,000 for long.

Europe stocks sink on Friday open

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching lows of $40,800 on Bitstamp Friday after a major options expiry event.

Overnight performance, initially showing a recovery, had been stymied by worries over a nuclear power plant fire in Ukraine.

Stocks futures fell on the news, the severity of which was subsequently questioned.

In Germany, the DAX index hit a one-year low on the daily open, with the S&P 500 yet to commence trading.

"From recent high, index has lost 17%, way more than S&P 500," markets commentator Holger Zschaepitz noted.

"Investors are turning their backs on Europe as the risk of stagflation increases. This means that Europe's comeback has failed yet again."

In Europe, the spotlight was also on commodities, with gas prices again touching new highs on Thursday. So too was inflation.

Inflation data no longer matters much for central-bank policy prognostications, evidently. Italian inflation surged to a record for a third straight month, to 6.2% in February vs the 5.5.% median estimate, data released this morning show. Yet 2-year Italian yields are plunging. pic.twitter.com/8I4ZcTaSh4

— Lisa Abramowicz (@lisaabramowicz1) March 1, 2022

A cautious Crypto Ed thus laid out the near-term prognosis for Bitcoin with some trepidation.

"So, really need that 5th leg. A deeper drop from here is bad news for the possibility of that 5th leg..... Especially when losing 40k again, we can skip the bullish vibes and start looking for shorts," he warned on the day.

"Bullish above 42, bearish below 40k."

No let-up for short-term altcoin performance

Altcoins characteristically suffered as Bitcoin continued to dip, with attention focused on Ether (ETH) and its trend versus BTC.

Related: Bitcoin a 'good bet' if Fed continues easing to avoid a recession — Analyst

Already struggling, sentiment took a further hit from news that Metamask was preparing to block ETH transactions in Venezuela in order to comply with government regulations.

"By default, MetaMask accesses the blockchain via Infura, which is unavailable in certain jurisdictions due to legal compliance," a blog post announced Thursday.

The top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap were led by Solana (SOL) in terms of daily losses, SOL/USD down nearly 7%.