Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Dips Under $88K, Gold Hits Record Above $5K As Yen Hits Two-Month Peak
Markets wake up to a classic risk-off shuffle. Bitcoin takes a breather below $88,000 while traditional safe-haven gold blasts through the $5,000 ceiling—a record high that's turning heads and raising eyebrows.
The Yen Flexes Its Muscles
Driving the narrative is the Japanese yen, punching to a two-month high against the dollar. It's a move that screams caution, sending ripples across asset classes. When the yen strengthens, global capital often rethinks its playground.
Digital Gold vs. The Original
Here's the fascinating divergence. Bitcoin, the 21st-century digital store of value, sees a tactical pullback. Meanwhile, ancient, physical gold achieves a milestone price—proof that in times of perceived stress, old habits die hard. It's a split-screen test of conviction for two very different generations of 'safe' assets.
A Liquidity Check for Crypto
The dip under $88K isn't a crash; it's a liquidity event. As fiat flows get redirected on yen strength, leveraged crypto positions feel the pinch first. It's the market's way of flushing out weak hands and resetting the board—healthy volatility in a long-term bull trend.
So, while gold's record run makes for flashy headlines, the smart money is watching the flows. This isn't a story of crypto failure, but of traditional finance doing its usual nervous dance—one that often sets the stage for digital assets' next explosive leg up. After all, what's a little currency volatility between friends? It just makes the eventual climb back above $90K all the more satisfying.
Market snapshot
- Bitcoin: $87,781, down 1.3%
- Ether: $2,867, down 2.6%
- XRP: $1.89, down 0.6%
- Total crypto market cap: $3.04 trillion, down 1.4%
Greenland Tariff Threat Rolled Back As Trade Risks Linger
Investors have treated the metal as a refuge through shifting policy expectations and geopolitical stress. Prices surged 64% in 2025, and they have gained more than 17% this year, supported by safe-haven demand, expectations of easier US monetary policy, central bank buying and ETF inflows.
President Donald Trump’s trade threats stayed in focus. He abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from threats to impose tariffs on European allies as leverage to seize Greenland, and he said over the weekend he WOULD impose a 100% tariff on Canada if it followed through on a trade deal with China.
He has also threatened to hit French wines and champagnes with 200% tariffs in an apparent effort to pressure French President Emmanuel Macron into joining his “Board of Peace” initiative.
Some observers fear the board could undermine the United Nations’ role as the main global platform for conflict resolution, though TRUMP has said it will work with the UN.
US Futures Ease After Volatile Week Marked By Trade Risks
Currency markets also turned volatile. The yen jumped to more than a two-month high on speculation that coordinated intervention by US and Japanese authorities could be imminent, and Tokyo’s top currency diplomat left that prospect open while keeping markets guessing.
The yen rose as much as 1.2% to 153.89 per dollar, its strongest since November. The euro hit a four-month high of $1.1898 and was last up 0.4% at $1.18665, as traders trimmed dollar positions ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting and watched for a possible announcement by the Trump administration of a new Fed chairman.
Wall Street faces another busy week after a rocky stretch. US stock index futures fell modestly on Sunday evening as markets braced for the Fed decision on Wednesday and a wave of corporate earnings, after last week’s pullback tied to geopolitical strains and trade uncertainty.
