$BTC Bitcoin has pulled back to around $76,500 after briefly surpassing $79,000 earlier this week. The rally that started from late-March lows below $65,000 now appears to be stalling. The main pressure comes from macro data. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index hit an all-time low of 49.8 in April, largely due to inflation fears tied to the Iran conflict. One-year inflation expectations jumped to 4.8% from 3.8%, while long-term expectations rose to 3.5% the highest since October 2025. This rising inflation psychology could limit the Fed’s ability to cut rates, as further easing might fuel even higher expectations. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is also signaling potential rate hikes in June, which could strengthen the yen and weigh on risk assets. On the positive side, DeFi is holding up better than the broader market thanks to the coordinated recovery effort after the Kelp DAO exploit. The CoinDesk DeFi Select Index even gained 0.5% while the CoinDesk 20 fell 1.5%.