Bitcoin retakes $90,000 as investors see it as alternative to diving dollar and turbulent stocks
Bitcoin reclaimed the $90,000 level for the first time since March as investors jumped into the crypto for a second day amid turbulence in the stock market.
The price of bitcoin was last higher by more than 3% at $90,282.00, according to Coin Metrics, its highest level since March 7. On Monday, it rose another 3%. Bitcoin is off its April low now by about 21%.
Bitcoin rises about 20% from its April low
The big up move this week coincided with yet another sell-off in U.S. equities Monday as Trump ratcheted up his pressure campaign on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, demanding he lower rates immediately as the Trump administration explores whether Powell can legally be fired before his term ends in May 2026.
U.S. ETFs that track the price of spot bitcoin logged $381.4 million in inflows on Monday. That was their biggest daily inflow since Jan. 30, when they posted $588.2 million, and their fourth day of inflows in the past five trading sessions.
The cryptocurrency was highly vulnerable to stocks’ tariff-fueled volatility earlier this month but has been decoupling from risk assets in the past week or so. It’s now up more than 9% in April, along with gold’s 9% gain in that time. The S&P 500 has lost 6% month to date. The U.S. dollar index is down 5%.
“Bitcoin continues showing signs of resilience,” said Ed Engel, an analyst at Compass Point, in a note Tuesday. “Bitcoin’s correlation with equities historically approaches 1.0 during macro sell-offs; however, its 30-day correlation with the S&P is just 0.65.”
“While we’re constructive on bitcoin’s recent decoupling, recent strength comes alongside light trading volumes,” he added. “This lowers our conviction that bitcoin can break above the $93,000 resistance level without a significant catalyst like Fed easing or tariff deals. That said, bitcoin’s long-term holders remain steadfast and buying from Strategy is picking up as bitcoin’s liquidity declines … these factors can support further resiliency amid equity and fixed income volatility.”
According to chart analyst Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies, the $88,000 level marks key resistance for the cryptocurrency. If cleared successfully, it would be a positive near-term development for bitcoin, putting its next resistance near $95,900, Stockton said.
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