Bitcoin at $77,576, set to snap five-day losing streak

Weak institutional interest has weighed on the crypto, despite risk sentiment getting a big lift on Wednesday following a boost to Middle East peace hopes

Bitcoin edged higher on Wednesday, with the world’s largest cryptocurrency looking to snap a five-day losing streak.

Weak institutional interest has weighed on the crypto, despite risk sentiment getting a big lift on Wednesday following a boost to Middle East peace hopes and a pre-earnings gain in U.S. technology company Nvidia. Gains in Bitcoin were also capped by more hawkish-than-anticipated U.S. central bank minutes.

Bitcoin was last up 0.8% to $77,576.2 by 21:52 GMT. The crypto last week topped $82,000 after the U.S. Senate Banking Committee advanced key legislation for the industry. However, it has steadily lost momentum since.

Bitcoin has stabilized near $77,000 with the total crypto market cap at $2.57 trillion. Spot demand has softened since mid-May, with spot CVD running negative for nine consecutive sessions through May 19, the longest sustained net-selling streak of 2026. Average daily volumes remain thin, suggesting the move lacks broad participation, Dessislava Ianeva, analyst at Nexo Dispatch, said.

Cryptocurrencies have been under pressure due to rising expectations of more interest rate hikes by central banks across the world in order to combat the inflationary shock arising from surging oil prices sparked by the Middle East war.

Elsewhere, a European banking consortium planning to launch a euro-pegged cryptocurrency later this year has added 25 new members, bringing its total to 37 financial institutions from 15 countries, the group said on Wednesday.

The consortium, which established an Amsterdam-based entity called Qivalis last year, now counts ING, BNP Paribas, BBVA, ABN Amro, Rabobank, Sabadell, Bankinter, Bank of Ireland, Handelsbanken and Nordea among its members.

The project is positioned as a European answer to U.S. dominance in digital payments, and as a way to participate in a potential future market where assets such as bonds and real estate are traded as blockchain-based tokens.

The euro is Europe’s currency, and on-chain financial infrastructure should carry it — built by European institutions and governed by European rules, Qivalis CEO Jan-Oliver Sell said.