Market News

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Bitcoin (BTC) has retreated by nearly 2.5% in the past 24 hours after failing to hold onto gains made during an end-of-week bounce that pushed it back up to $71,000.

The pullback followed a turbulent few days in which the cryptocurrency plunged to as low as $60,000 before rebounding. BTC is still down more than 11% in the past seven days.

Even so, it's outperforming the wider market, which saw the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index drop 13.5% over 24 hours and 13.7% in a week.

The drop saw institutions move. Speaking to CNBC, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said late last week that the firm saw significant inflows as prices dropped.

“I think long-time holders are feeling unsure, and I think the new investor set — institutions — are feeling they’re getting a new crack at the apple and seeing prices they thought they’d forever missed,” Horsley said.

Spot bitcoin ETFs on Friday reversed a three-day streak of outflows, bringing in a net $371 million, SoSoValue data shows. Still, retail sentiment remained fragile. Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant’s head of research, noted on social media that U.S. investors are buying back in, based on the Coinbase Premium Index turning positive for the first time since mid-January.

Online search interest for terms such as “crypto capitulation” spiked during the selloff and stayed elevated, according to crypto analytics firm Santiment, offering an opportunity for value investors to step in.

Meanwhile, capital flowed into traditional safe havens. Gold and silver extended their recovery after a selloff late last month, with gold once again topping $5,000 as investors consider a weaker U.S. dollar and major purchasers continued accumulating. These include Tether, whose gold stash has topped $23 billion, and China’s central bank.

Stock market futures are down ahead of the open, after a Japan equities rallied over the ruling party’s landslide win in a snap election. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had campaigned on low interest rates and significant fiscal spending.

The yield on Japanese government bonds kept rising, further unwinding the yen carry trade and affecting risk assets including cryptocurrencies. The unwind could bring nearly $5 trillion of overseas investments back into the country.