Bitcoin inched higher to about $96,000 on Thursday as traders tracked a fresh unwind in crypto leverage and a choppy Asia open, after Wall Street slid again on weakness in US tech heavyweights.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell about 1%, and US equity index futures eased, with early signals also pointing to softer opens for Hong Kong and mainland China. South Korean and Australian gauges edged higher, keeping the regional picture uneven.
The cautious mood followed another pullback in the US. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1% on Wednesday and the S&P 500 closed 0.5% lower, as investors cut exposure to megacap technology names.
Market snapshot
Bitcoin: $96,177, up 0.8% Ether: $3,310, down 0.2% XRP: $2.10, up 0.2% Total crypto market cap: $3.34 trillion, down 0.3%Open Interest Drop Signals Crypto Market Reset
Crypto traders also kept one eye on positioning. Analysts said Bitcoin open interest has dropped more than 31% from its 2025 peak and has steadied around $10B, a deleveraging phase that followed heavy liquidations as spot trading stayed active, with volumes nearing $60B.
Some desks see the reset as constructive, especially if price holds. The move higher reflects a firmer risk on tone tied to stable US inflation and a resilient job market, creating what QCP describes as a “Goldilocks environment” where investors are piling into everything from stocks to precious metals and now crypto.
Lukman Otunuga, a senior market analyst at FXTM, said investor sentiment is being tugged in different directions as geopolitical risks, trade policy uncertainty and worries about central bank independence weigh on markets.
“While risk assets remain fragile, safe havens like gold and silver continue to shine,” he said. “With key legal and political decisions looming, volatility is likely to remain elevated, creating both risks and opportunities for traders in the week ahead.”
Macro And Political Risks Continue To Steer Markets
Oil helped set the tone for cross-asset trading. Prices fell for the first time in six days after President Donald Trump signaled he may hold off on attacking Iran for now, and traders trimmed some of the geopolitical premium that had built into crude.
Gold and silver also cooled after pushing to record highs in the prior session, as traders took stock of the latest headlines and shifted back toward risk assets in parts of the market.
Policy uncertainty stayed in the background. The US Supreme Court did not issue a ruling on challenges to Trump’s global tariffs on Wednesday, leaving markets waiting until at least next week for clarity on one of the administration’s signature economic policies.
FX traders in Asia also watched South Korea’s won after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the currency’s slide did not match the country’s fundamentals, comments that offered rare verbal support as volatility picked up.
Japan’s politics remained a live variable too. Reports and subsequent confirmation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans a snap election have kept the yen under pressure at points, and that currency swing has fed into daily moves in Japanese equities.
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