The crypto run finally tapped the brakes. After pushing above $87,000 earlier this week, Bitcoin dropped as much as 1.6% to $82,882 on Thursday. Ether traded around $2,628, and smaller tokens including XRP, Solana, and Zcash also slipped.
Risk assets were under pressure, and plenty of traders rang the register. FxPro's chief market analyst, Alex Kuptsikevich, pointed to a firmer US dollar, a jump in bond yields, and softer equities as the catalysts for profit taking. "Despite the pullback, the ongoing, unfinished nature of the uptrend suggests it may be a temporary pause on the way up," he said.
Even with obstacles such as US lawmakers not moving forward on long-awaited crypto market structure legislation, digital assets have rallied in recent weeks. Wave Digital Assets' Rajiv Sawhney, who oversees international portfolio management, said, "The crypto markets have had a decent run over the last several weeks." He noted that traders took comfort when Bitcoin reclaimed its 50‑week moving average last Friday, suggesting the move "still has legs."
Traditional markets were wobbly: S&P 500 futures fell 0.6%, putting the index close to erasing its weekly gain, while Nasdaq 100 contracts fell 1% as chipmakers sold off. Long-dated Treasuries continued to slide, lifting 30‑year yields to their highest since 2004, while the dollar appeared poised to register its longest run of gains since May.
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After months of treading water, Bitcoin is up 9% in a week, so chances to lock in gains have been few and far between. At QCP Capital, Ivan Lee, who runs the trading desk, said, "Bitcoin took a bigger hit because it had a bigger rally." "In reality it's moving in line with everything else."
Options are in focus too. Roughly $15 billion worth of Bitcoin options on Deribit will expire in Friday's quarterly roll, with over one‑third of open interest dropping off. The put‑to‑call ratio sits at 0.70, suggesting more positioning for upside. From here, crypto traders are taking cues from broader global markets to map the next move.
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