Bitcoin stages a rebound above $34,000 after wiping out all of its 2021 gains a day earlier

Bitcoin staged a rebound Wednesday, just a day after wiping out all its gains for 2021.

The world's largest cryptocurrency climbed as much as 6% to $34,821.53. Prior to the climb, bitcoin had fallen as much as 30% since reaching a multiweek high on June 15.

That included a tumble on Tuesday that took bitcoin below a key technical support level of $30,000. The cryptocurrency's low of $28,824.32 on Tuesday took it below the $28,996.28 level where it started in 2021.

Bitcoin's latest sell-off was driven by a crackdown from China focused on reducing mining activity and ensuring domestic banks don't transact it.

"We expect bitcoin to hold the $30,000 to $42,000 trading range for now and test it a few more times before making any decisive move in either direction," Pankaj Balani, CEO at Delta exchange, a crypto derivatives exchange, said in a statement.

Balani and John Wu, president of Ava Labs, the team behind altcoin Avalanche, both noted the recent sell-off was distinct from the massive cryptocurrency crash in May led by bitcoin.

"It's not a deleveraging sell-off nor a euphoric sell-off," Wu told Insider. "It's just a lack of interest."

Alexandra Clark, sales trader at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, isn't too concerned about the recent slide. She pointed to the $2.5 billion worth of options and another $2 billion in futures contracts that are set to expire on June 25 as possible triggers for recent price swings.

"Historically, the bitcoin option expiries have led to increased volatility, so given how things have been moving recently, this month is likely to be no different," she said.

Markets Insider