Good morning, Asia. Here’s what’s happening in the market:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, your daily digest of the top news from the U.S. and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of the US market, see CoinDesk’s Americas Crypto Diary.
Gold’s move above $5,000 is starting to look less like a surge and more like a regime shift, even as Bitcoin traded sideways during the Hong Kong session, trading around $87,000, while the market lacks confidence and continues to struggle with internal supply dynamics.
On-chain indicators suggest that this difference reflects market structure, not just sentiment.
CryptoQuant said in its latest report that Bitcoin holders began selling at a loss for the first time since October 2023. Old buyers exited their positions and new holders stepped in. This pattern usually signals that the market is entering consolidation rather than acceleration.
Glassnode said the market is being constrained by supply, with sellers rising and prices approaching recent buyers’ initial purchase prices.
Options and prediction markets reinforce this view: Gold’s strength is believed to be here to stay, while expectations for Bitcoin’s near-term rebound are fading.
Glassnode writes that price continues to stall below the key short-term holder cost basis near $98,000, while supply is intensive above $100,000 – meaning there are enough sellers at higher levels to limit the rally and make it difficult to sustain a break above $100,000 in the near term.
The recent rally has attracted breakeven sellers and investors who accumulated funds during the 2025 highs to exit with losses, reinforcing overhead resistance and keeping the upside vulnerable.
Market mechanisms reinforce this diagnosis.
Futures trading volumes remain compressed, leverage deployment is inhibited, and recent price action has occurred amid thin liquidity rather than with wider participation.
On Polymarket, traders are placing higher odds on gold staying above $5,500 by mid-year, while betting increasingly that Bitcoin will consolidate further before fresh gains.
Currently, gold is absorbing macro pressures, while Bitcoin remains in digestion mode, working through internal supply rather than responding to external catalysts.
market trend
Bitcoin: Bitcoin is currently trading around $87,000, with its rally struggling to gain traction due to oversupply, low participation and lackluster leverage, leaving it vulnerable to redistributions.
Ethereum: Ethereum has underperformed Bitcoin, with price action reflecting weak demand, low derivatives participation, and little sign that investors are meaningfully moving toward higher-beta cryptoassets.
Gold: Gold prices soared above $5,000 an ounce, setting a new record and reinforcing its role as a durable hedge against global risks as investors piled into gold amid rising geopolitical hot spots, persistent central bank buying and a weak dollar.
Nikkei 225 Index: Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on rising geopolitical uncertainty, with Japan’s Nikkei falling and a stronger yen weighing on Japanese stocks, while other regional benchmarks were mixed.
Elsewhere in Cryptocurrency
- A huge U.S. cryptocurrency bill is brewing. What this means for everyday users (CoinDesk)
- The Ethereum Foundation forms a post-quantum security team and adds $1 million in research bonuses (The Block)
