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.
Crypto markets enter the “Year of the Horse” looking less like a victory parade and more like a racehorse in the starting gate: muscles tense after a long stumble.
The ETH versus BTC chart, in particular, is drawing attention because it is starting to resemble the same stepping pattern seen before the last major cryptocurrency bull run.
The last time Gold reached the top, the following happened:
– $ETH hit rock bottom 9 months earlier.
– $ETH crashed between 30 and 40%.This time;
– $ETH hit rock bottom 9 months earlier
– $ETH It is already down 31%.What happened after that?
An increase of 300%+ against #Bitcoin for Ethereum and the bull market… pic.twitter.com/CH8SRjyZm7
—Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 1, 2026
The Year of the Horse metaphor has less to do with destiny and more to do with tempo. Horse years in market folklore are associated with speed, abrupt changes in direction, and momentum that builds quickly once it starts. Applied to cryptocurrencies, that translates to an expectation of steeper swings, faster capital turnover, and the possibility of leadership shifting away from pure bitcoin dominance toward higher beta assets if liquidity conditions stabilize.
The reason the ETH versus BTC chart is being noticed is because of a sequence that occurred once before and now appears to be repeating itself.
In the last major cycle, ETH bottomed against bitcoin about 9 months before gold peaked, then suffered another brutal 30% to 40% relative drop that convinced many that the trade was broken.
Instead, that last stumble marked the end. As gold cooled and defensive positioning unraveled, capital shifted back into higher beta cryptocurrencies, sending Ethereum up over 300% against bitcoin and helping ignite the broader bull market.
Today, the structure looks more familiar than identical. The ETH to BTC chart hit a relative low about 9 months before gold’s recent high and is already down around 31%, putting it in the same historical decline range that preceded a violent bullish reversal.
QCP said traders are still buying protection against further declines, but not with the same urgency as seen during last year’s sharp sell-off, suggesting caution rather than outright panic.
At the same time, JP Morgan Private Bank’s Yuxuan Tang wrote in an email note that gold’s long-term fundamentals remain intact despite recent pullbacks, arguing that central bank and institutional demand continue to provide a structural floor.
That push and pull between resilient safe haven demand and faded crypto positioning is what gives the ETH-BTC relationship intrigue. In terms of horse-years, the market is not yet accelerating, but it may no longer be limping.
However, the ratio is more of a temperament indicator than a prediction, suggesting that if liquidity stabilizes and bitcoin’s dominance loosens, capital turnover could accelerate rapidly. Horses don’t usually walk when they finally move. They gallop.
And that gallop, at least according to market predictions, looks more like an advance from current levels, not a new record. Kalshi bettors say bitcoin will reach 105,000 in 2026, while at Polymarket, bettors assign only a 29% chance of surpassing the magic number of $126,000.
I hope this horse can finish the race.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin is trading near $78,800 as a brief sell-off-driven bounce finds thin support above $70,000, leaving markets focused on the long-term fork of $60,000 to $65,000 and the 200-week average zone as the next important bottom unless US stocks fall.
ETH: Ethereum is trading near $2,345 after a brief rebound from weekend sales, but with steeper weekly losses than bitcoin and weaker structural support, markets remain cautious that the price could continue to decline unless overall risk appetite improves.
Gold: Gold is trading near $4,830 as prices try to stabilize after a margin-driven sell-off, but elevated volatility and a firmer dollar keep the rally fragile rather than signaling a clear return to the previous uptrend.
Nikkei 225: The Nikkei 225 rose about 2.4% to lead gains across Asia as optimism over a new US-India trade deal lifted regional risk sentiment, with South Korea’s Kospi rising more than 5% and broader markets tracking a rally in US stocks despite ongoing volatility in gold, silver and cryptocurrencies.
Elsewhere in Crypto
- CZ Rejects Binance ‘FUD’ As Blame Game Over Crypto Crash Persists (CoinDesk)
- Jeffrey Epstein Was an Early Investor in Coinbase, Emails Reveal (Decrypt)
