Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Stuck at $86k as Bond Selloff and Japan Rate Hike Concerns Weigh on Markets

Bitcoin traded around $86,000 at the Asia open on Tuesday, as a sharp slide in cryptocurrencies and a global bond selloff kept traders defensive and capped gains in regional stocks.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency remains a key barometer of risk appetite, and sentiment turned fragile after it slumped more than 5% on Monday, briefly slipping below $85,000. It last changed hands near $86,400 in Asia, leaving it roughly 30% below its October peak.

Bitcoin saw the biggest wipeout over the past 24 hours, with about $251.69M getting liquidated. Ethereum followed with roughly $111.31M in liquidations, while other majors like SOL and ZEC saw smaller amounts at $19.22M and $14.99M, according to CoinGlass.

Market snapshot

Bond Market Stress Builds As BOJ Signals End To Ultra Loose Policy

Equity markets in the region tried to stabilize, although investors stayed cautious. MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose about 0.6%, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.5% higher after a sharp drop in the previous session.

Behind the nerves sits a week-long selloff in Japanese government bonds, which gathered pace after Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda laid the groundwork for an interest rate increase later this month.

Traders increasingly expect the BOJ to move away from its ultra-loose stance, a shift that could ripple through global funding markets.

10-year Japanese government bond yields ticked up another 1.5 basis points in morning trade to around 1.88%, the highest level in 17 years, ahead of a key 10-year auction. On Monday, they had already jumped 6 basis points, while the move spilled into overseas markets and pushed 10 year US-Treasury yields up to about 4.08%.

In credit markets, investors kept a close eye on Chinese developer China Vanke, which recently surprised markets by seeking a delay on a local bond repayment. The company has now asked holders to wait a year to be made whole, a move that underscores ongoing liquidity strains in the country’s property sector.

Markets Price In December Fed Cut As Economic Data Softens

In the US, futures on the S&P 500 were little changed after the index fell 0.5% on Monday and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.4%.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed US manufacturing contracted for a ninth straight month in November, with the headline index easing to 48.2 from 48.7, and components such as new orders, employment and backlogs all weakening.

The softer tone in the data has reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve is nearing a turn in policy. Interest rate futures now imply about an 86% chance of a 25 basis point cut at the Fed’s Dec. 9 to 10 meeting, helped by signs of cooling activity and a gradual easing in inflation pressures.

Fed officials will receive one more reading on their preferred inflation gauge before that decision, with Friday’s report expected to show that price pressures remain present but contained. Even so, many analysts see the labour market as the key factor that will shape the pace of cuts next year.

Risk Aversion Rises As Bitcoin Drop Spills Into Crypto-Exposed Equities

Crypto-exposed stocks felt the impact of Bitcoin’s slide as risk aversion picked up. Shares of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, fell sharply, while Coinbase and Robinhood dropped by around mid-single digits. Bitcoin miners such as Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms slid between about 7% and 9% as lower prices squeezed margins.

On-chain data added another layer of concern for crypto traders. Analysts at Bitfinex said recent losses in Bitcoin have triggered a wave of realised losses bigger than those seen at the two major lows earlier in the current cycle, in Aug. 2024 and April 2025, describing a market under stress and searching for liquidity as weaker holders capitulate.

They noted that such heavy loss realization has often occurred near the later stages of corrective phases, when selling pressure exhausts itself and conditions stabilize.

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