Bitcoin fell to $75,498 in Asian hours on Tuesday, leaving crypto markets out of step with the equity rally that took global stocks to all-time highs overnight.
XRP, ether and Solana each fell as much as 1% in the past day, according to data from CoinDesk, while Zcash (ZEC) fell 9% to $564, the biggest move among the top 15. Hyperliquid (HYPE) held off the cohort at $59.99, up 1.4% on the day and is now just behind Dogecoin in market cap. Tron (TRX) was a muted performer last week, rising steadily while the rest of the major companies maintained tight ranges.
What traders are watching now is a setup forming on the bitcoin chart. FXPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email that the price is finding support near the rising 50-day moving average, while the 200-day moving average briefly acted as resistance in early May.
The two lines are on track to intersect in the coming weeks, a setup known as a golden cross, which is generally read as a bullish signal. A break of any of the moving averages before the crossover could set the direction of crypto markets for the next few weeks, he said.
Flow data has been less encouraging. Spot bitcoin ETFs in the US recorded $1.74 billion in withdrawals over the past two weeks, according to CryptoOnchain. Meanwhile, retail traders have been adding leverage, a combination that has historically preceded sharp liquidation cascades when the market turns against the crowd.
The pattern appears at the same time that the broader market is wondering which asset gives the signal first. Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, said ether remains the critical chart to watch, with repeated failures ahead of $2,400 reinforcing the importance of that resistance band.
A decisive daily close above $2,400 would mark a major technical change and would likely bring renewed institutional participation, Kruger said.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission added another piece to the institutional puzzle on Monday, approving the listing of options on a bitcoin index calculated from BTC prices on multiple exchanges. It is the first instrument of its kind, and existing crypto options on US stock exchanges are limited to those tied to spot ETF shares.
Meanwhile, stocks changed overnight.
The MSCI All Country World Index rose for the sixth day in a row to hit a record high. South Korea’s Kospi is up approximately 100% for the year, making it the best-performing major stock market indicator globally. Micron Technology jumped 19% in US trading to surpass $1 trillion in market value, joining SK Hynix in chip stocks at that level. Brent crude fell 1.5% to $98 on signs of progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran. Treasury yields fell slightly, with the 10-year note at 4.47%.
Bitcoin’s lag behind stocks has been one of the clearest market signals of the past month. Whether that gap closes through a chip-driven stock pullback or a bitcoin rally depends on which side of the moving average is crossed first.
