Bitcoin staged a short-lived relief rally above $74,000 on Thursday but quickly lost momentum as analysts warned the broader bear market remains intact. On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant said Bitcoin “is still in a bear market despite the recent rally,” with its Bull Score Index holding at 10 out of 100 — “deep in bearish territory.” The platform added that “the current move is likely just a relief rally, not the start of a new bull phase.”
BTC briefly reached a one-month high of about $74,000 on Coinbase, touching the 50-day exponential moving average, according to TradingView, but fell more than $3,000 and slid back below $71,000 during Friday morning trading, representing roughly a 4.7% drop from Thursday’s peak.
Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, said the recent uptick was driven by renewed risk appetite and ETF inflows, but “quickly faced headwinds with prices pulling back toward $71,000 amid persistent macro uncertainties and fading momentum.” He warned that softer macro signals — such as an expected slowdown in February nonfarm payrolls — leave cryptocurrencies vulnerable to renewed downside pressure despite temporary liquidity-driven rallies.
CryptoQuant noted a positive Coinbase Premium, signaling renewed U.S. buying interest and contributing to the recent move. Spot demand from U.S. investors appears to have shifted from contraction to growth, with the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium moving from deeply negative in early February to its most positive level since October. Selling pressure from traders and long-term holders has eased after unrealized losses reached levels last seen in July 2022.
Analysts at SwissBlock observed signs of shifting momentum, saying “we’re exiting peak negative momentum, the kind of transition that often precedes a regime change,” suggesting the market may be moving away from extreme negative pressure even if a sustained bull phase has not yet begun.
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