Investing.com-- Bitcoin climbed on Tuesday, recovering the $80,000 level after extending a rebound from around five-month lows as traders bought the dip in the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, although sentiment remained fragile in the face of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
Broader crypto prices also tracked Bitcoin’s recovery, although the sector was nursing steep losses in recent weeks as Trump’s tariffs rattled global risk markets.
Bitcoin rose 2.4% to $80,285 by 09:31 ET (13:31 GMT).
Bitcoin tracks broader market rebound as Trump tariffs approach
Gains in Bitcoin came tracking a rebound in broader financial markets. Wall Street indexes recouped a bulk of their Monday losses, while most Asian markets advanced.
U.S. stock index futures were also positive in Asian trade.
Still, Bitcoin was nursing a 4.2% drop over the past two days, having briefly slumped to a five-month low on Monday as risk appetite was battered by Trump’s tariffs.
The U.S. President had last week unveiled a host of reciprocal tariffs on several major economies, with the duties being bigger than markets had feared.
Trump over the weekend doubled down on his tariffs, even threatening China with steeper duties if Beijing did not withdraw its retaliatory tariffs on the U.S.
Speculative, risk-driven assets like Bitcoin clocked steep losses on the diminished risk appetite, with there now appearing few factors that could help lift market sentiment.
Trump’s tariffs are set to take effect from Wednesday, with the President also threatening tariffs on pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports.
Bitcoin confirms ‘death cross’ after recent selloff
Bitcoin formed a “death cross” this week- a key technical indicator that could herald more near-term weakness in the crypto.
A death cross is formed when an asset’s short-term moving average falls below its longer term moving averages. In Bitcoin’s case, its 50-day moving average fell below its 200-day moving average this week, confirming a death cross, Investing.com data showed.
A death cross could herald near-term weakness in Bitcoin, especially amid a dearth of directly positive cues for crypto markets. Several long-term holders of Bitcoin were also seen moving coins onto exchanges in recent weeks, heralding a potential sale.
Bitcoin holding up better than in past periods of turmoil, analyst says
Bitcoin is holding up better than in past crises, suggesting a more stable investor base, according to Bernstein. Unlike previous selloffs that saw declines of up to 70%, the recent 26% pullback highlights a shift in the type of capital supporting the asset.
The firm's analyst Gautam Chhugani attributes this resilience to growing institutional interest, with ETFs and corporate treasuries replacing retail traders as the dominant holders. “The ETF outflows still remain in positive territory at year-to-date (YTD) ~$770mn inflows,” Chhugani said, despite a 15% year-to-date drop in Bitcoin’s price.
Past downturns were often driven by retail panic and miner capitulation, but the current environment reflects more durable ownership.
Chhugani describes Bitcoin as a “probabilistic ‘gold’,” offering higher volatility and liquidity than traditional gold.
Crypto price today: altcoins rebound, Ether recovers from 2-year low
Broader crypto prices tracked a rebound in Bitcoin, although they were all nursing steep losses in recent sessions.
World no.2 crypto Ether rose more than 5% to $1,575.99, recovering from a two-year low.
XRP jumped 10% to $1.96, while Solana, Cardano, and Polygon rose between 8% and 13%.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin soared over 10%, while $TRUMP rose 4.6%.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.