Bitcoin pulls back as short covering eases

Bitcoin began Wednesday near $78,522, down 0.58 percent over 24 hours, while ether fell 1.6 percent to approximately $2,443. KuCoin's midnight UTC snapshot captured a retreat after bitcoin briefly moved above $81,000.

The pullback came despite a firmer US equity session. The Nasdaq gained 0.66 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.32 percent, leaving crypto behind a broader recovery in risk assets.

Around $566 million in crypto positions were liquidated over the preceding 24 hours, including roughly $331 million in shorts. Those forced purchases had helped the earlier advance, but had not kept bitcoin above the level it briefly reached.

A burst of short covering can move the price quickly. Holding the resulting gains requires demand that remains once those positions have closed.