Stronger Dollar Weighs on Bitcoin Despite Stock Market Gains

Dollar strength and cautious ETF flows keep Bitcoin capped under $70K as broader liquidity conditions remain restrained.

Crypto markets turned lower on Thursday as a firmer U.S. dollar offset strength in global equities. Bitcoin hovered near $66,700, while major altcoins posted steeper losses. Risk appetite in stocks failed to spill over into digital assets. Instead, traders faced renewed macro pressure and fading momentum.

Weakness Persists as Crypto Assets Drop While Asian Equities Rally

According to TradingView data, Bitcoin fell about 1.7% over the last 24 hours, with Ether dropping by a similar amount. On the other hand, XRP declined by almost 5%, while Solana lost around 4%. 

Image Source: TradingView

BNB and Dogecoin also moved lower, showing that selling pressure affected most major coins. At the same time, stock markets in Asia moved higher, even though trading volumes were light due to holidays. A regional index excluding Japan gained about 0.5%.

Japan’s Nikkei rose close to 0.85%, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped around 3% to a record level. Optimism followed a rebound in U.S. technology stocks after Nvidia signed a multi-year AI chip deal with Meta Platforms.

Even though stocks moved higher, crypto markets failed to follow suit. Prices attempted small rebounds, yet sellers quickly pushed the market back down. Recent rebounds have lacked follow-through, with gains capped near resistance.

Institutional Caution Persists as Bitcoin Holds Below Key Resistance

Market conditions have become more stable compared with earlier in the quarter, as declines no longer trigger sharp panic-driven selloffs. However, steady buying interest remains absent, making it difficult for prices to sustain a recovery.

U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded $133.3 million in net outflows on Wednesday, marking a third consecutive day of withdrawals. Continued redemptions suggest that larger investors remain cautious, particularly while Bitcoin struggles to reclaim the $68,000–$70,000 range.

Liquidity across the broader market is witnessing a similar trend. Total stablecoin market value sits around $307.9 billion, but growth has been almost flat over the past week and slightly negative over the past month. That slowdown suggests new capital is not flowing aggressively into the crypto market. 

Meanwhile, USDT dominance stands near 59.6%. This means a large share of stablecoin liquidity remains parked in dollar-linked tokens and not moving into Bitcoin or altcoins. In past bull phases, stablecoin supply usually expands quickly as new money enters the market. That acceleration has not returned yet.

Bitcoin Lags as Investors Turn to Gold as Safe Haven

A stronger U.S. dollar put more pressure on crypto prices. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed officials are not ready to cut interest rates. Some even said rates could rise again if inflation stays high.

Higher rates and a strong dollar usually make investors less willing to buy risky assets like crypto. However, Gold reacted differently, moving in the opposite direction. Investors bought gold as a safer place to store value during uncertainty. That difference has raised fresh questions about whether Bitcoin really acts like “digital gold” when markets are under pressure.

Alex Tsepaev from B2PRIME Group said gold is staying strong because investors want a simple, trusted hedge amid political and economic uncertainty. He believes gold could try to move above the $5,000–$5,100 range if investors remain cautious.

However, he argued that BTC could rebound faster when market confidence returns. If ETF flows stabilize and U.S. crypto rules become clearer, money could flow back into the market. During risk-on periods, the OG asset often attracts capital faster than gold because many investors still see it as a higher-risk, higher-reward asset.

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