Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Dips Below $90K as Wall Street Rebound Fuels Risk-On Sentiment
Bitcoin's $90,000 support cracks—just as traditional markets decide to play nice.
The Dip Before the Rip?
Asia's trading session kicked off with digital gold slipping below a key psychological level. The move comes despite—or perhaps because of—a buoyant mood sweeping from Wall Street. When stocks rally, crypto often gets a tailwind. This time? A slight disconnect.
Risk Appetite Returns (Selectively)
Equity indices painted the tape green overnight, convincing some allocators that the coast is clear. That optimism typically spills over, greasing the wheels for capital to flow into higher-beta assets. Yet Bitcoin, the ultimate risk-on proxy, hesitated at the gate. Makes you wonder if the smart money is hedging its bets.
The $90K Line in the Sand
For chart watchers, that five-figure threshold isn't just a number—it's a sentiment gauge. Holding above it signals strength; a break below invites a retest of lower supports. The fact that the slide coincided with broader market cheer adds a layer of intrigue. Sometimes the herd moves together, and sometimes it scatters.
So, is this a healthy pullback or a warning sign? In a market where 'this time is different' is the most expensive phrase in finance, a little skepticism never hurt. After all, Wall Street's idea of a 'rebound' often involves printing more paper promises—something Bitcoin was literally invented to bypass.
Market snapshot
- Bitcoin: $89,795, down 0.1%
- Ether: $2,960, down 1.7%
- XRP: $1.91, down 1.6%
- Total crypto market cap: $3.11 trillion, down 0.3%
Wall Street Extends Rebound After Trump Eases Tariff Rhetoric
Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, said: ”The biggest threat today for global risk-assets, including BTC and altcoins, is around debt sustainability. If yields rise too much, the cost of financing (and investment attractiveness) of risk-assets requires lower prices.”
On Wall Street, stocks extended a rebound for a second session on Thursday after President Donald TRUMP walked back earlier tariff threats on European goods and ruled out taking control of Greenland by force.
The S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%, with investors rotating back into equities after the midweek jitters.
The rally also broadened, with the small-cap Russell 2000 closing at a record high, even as the week stayed choppy, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.4% for the week and the Dow was little changed.
Earnings Season Looms As A Fresh Market Test
In rates and FX, the dollar index held NEAR 98.329 and hovered around its lowest levels of the year after its biggest one-day fall in six weeks.
Fed funds futures implied a 96% chance the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold at its Jan. 28 meeting, and the 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to about 4.247%.
Commodities stayed in focus as precious metals pushed deeper into record territory, with gold up 0.3% to $4,951.47 per ounce and silver up 1.7% at $97.85.
South Korea led the regional move, the Kospi rose 1.1% for a third day after crossing 5,000 for the first time, a level President Lee Jae Myung had pledged to target through market reforms and tax measures aimed at narrowing the so-called Korea discount.
Tech also kept traders busy after Intel forecast quarterly revenue and profit below estimates, sending its shares down 11% in after-hours trading, a reminder that earnings season can still reshape sentiment quickly.
