Good morning Asia. This is what is making news in the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top news during US time and an overview of market movements and analysis. For a detailed overview of the US markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
Gold’s breakout above $5,000 is starting to look less like a spike and more like a regime change, even as bitcoin moves sideways, trading around $87,000 in the early hours of trading in Hong Kong, in a low-conviction market that continues to struggle with domestic supply dynamics.
Onchain indicators suggest that the divergence reflects market structure rather than sentiment alone.
In its latest report, CryptoQuant says bitcoin holders have begun selling at a loss for the first time since October 2023, with older buyers exiting positions and new holders stepping in, a pattern that typically marks a market moving toward consolidation rather than acceleration.
Glassnode says the market is being held back by supply, with rallies repeatedly running into sellers near the prices where recent buyers originally bought.
Options and prediction markets reinforce that view: The market is pricing gold’s strength as persistent while fading expectations of a near-term resurgence of bitcoin’s rally.
Glassnode writes that the price remains stuck below key cost bases for short-term holders, near $98,000, with a dense supply glut above $100,000, meaning there are enough sellers at higher levels to limit rallies and make a sustained move above $100,000 difficult in the near term.
The recent rallies have attracted balanced sellers and loss-driven exits from investors who accumulated during the 2025 highs, reinforcing overall resistance and keeping the upside fragile.
The mechanics of the market reinforce that diagnosis.
Futures volumes remain compressed, leverage deployment is moderate, and recent price movements have occurred in conditions of low liquidity rather than alongside increased participation.
At Polymarket, traders are assigning higher odds on gold staying above $5,500 until mid-year, while increasingly betting on bitcoin to see further consolidation before any further rise.
For now, gold is absorbing macroeconomic stress, while bitcoin remains in digestion mode, working through internal supply rather than responding to external catalysts.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin is trading around $87,000, struggling to gain traction as overall supply, low participation, and moderate leverage keep rallies vulnerable to renewed distribution.
ETH: Ether is underperforming Bitcoin, with the price action reflecting weak demand, moderate participation in derivatives, and few signs that investors are significantly pivoting toward higher-beta crypto assets.
Gold: Gold rose to a new record above $5,000 an ounce as investors piled into the metal amid rising geopolitical flashpoints, sustained central bank buying and a weaker US dollar, reinforcing its role as a durable hedge against global risk.
Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei fell as Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed amid rising geopolitical uncertainty, with a stronger yen weighing on Japanese stocks while other regional benchmarks moved unevenly.
Elsewhere in Crypto
- The big US cryptocurrency bill is on the move. Here’s what it means for everyday users (CoinDesk)
- Ethereum Foundation forms post-quantum security team and adds $1 million research prize (The Block)
