Cryptocurrency prices are recovering from their worst weekend levels in early US trading on Monday along with a sizeable rebound in US stock indices.
About an hour into the session, the Nasdaq is down just 0.1% after futures at one point overnight indicated a drop of more than 2%. The S&P 500 and DJIA also posted very modest losses.
Gold is still up 2% and crude oil is up 7%. The US Dollar Index is having one of its strongest sessions in weeks, gaining 1%.
bitcoin has risen to $68,600, up 2.3% in the last 24 hours. Ether (ETH) rose 1.4%, with solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) rising similar amounts.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks are posting even bigger gains, led by Circle (CRCL)’s 12% advance. Strategy (MSTR) is up 6% and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) is up 4.7%.
On the macroeconomic side, the ISM Manufacturing PMI stood at 52.4 in February, marking another month of expansion for the sector and the first consecutive streak of numbers above 50 since the fourth quarter of 2022. This follows Friday’s Chicago Business Barometer, which rose to 57.7 in February 2026 from 54 previously and well above expectations of 52.8. The reading marks only the second expansion since November 2023 and reflects the strongest pace of growth in US activity since May 2022.
Against a backdrop of Middle East conflict, reviving manufacturing activity, better-than-expected PPI data last week and higher oil prices driven by geopolitical tensions, a March rate cut now looks effectively ruled out ahead of the Federal Reserve’s March 18 meeting.
Normally, this could be considered a headwind for cryptocurrency prices, but it is quite possible that markets have already priced in a tighter-than-expected US monetary policy.
