Bitcoin holds above $72,000 as crypto market pauses after breakout

Bitcoin and ether edged higher as traders assessed macro risks, derivatives positioning and whether bitcoin can sustain a push toward $80,000. What to know : Bitcoin traded around $72,700, holding above $70,000, but failing to extend the rally toward the $80,000 level analysts had forecast. Equities rose on reports Iran reached out to the U.S. While the Dollar Index slipped, it remains up 3.5% since late January. The CoinDesk 5 and CoinDesk 10 indices gained about 3% over 24 hours, while DeFi and computing tokens barely moved. MANTRA surged after its token migration and redenomination.