Bitcoin Holds Near $90,000 as the Dollar Weakens and Gold Presses Towards Record Levels
Friday, [date] – The cryptocurrency market showed little net movement on Friday, with Bitcoin hovering just under the $90,000 mark while the broader digital‑asset space posted a mixed bag of results. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization remained flat at roughly $3.11 trillion, according to data from Coingecko.
Bitcoin and the Major Altcoins
- Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $89,800, essentially unchanged over the preceding 24 hours after briefly touching $91,200 earlier in the day.
- Ethereum (ETH) was priced near $2,950.
- BNB rose modestly, up about 0.6 %, whereas Solana (SOL) and XRP each slipped just under 1 %.
The stability in Bitcoin’s price comes amid a backdrop of a weakening U.S. dollar, reflected in a four‑month low for the Dollar Index. The softening greenback has been a catalyst for alternative stores of value, notably precious metals.
Altcoin Landscape
Among the top‑100 digital assets, performance diverged:
- Gainers – Perpetual‑trading platforms Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Aster (ASTER) posted gains of roughly 5 % and 4 %, respectively.
- Losers – Internet Computer (ICP) and Polygon (POL) each fell close to 4 %, pulling the average of the top hundred down.
The overall market breadth remained neutral, with the mixed movements offsetting each other and leaving the aggregate market cap unchanged.
Leverage Activity and Liquidations
CoinGlass reported that roughly 104,000 leveraged positions were liquidated during the last 24‑hour window, wiping out about $312 million in total. The breakdown was:
- Bitcoin‑linked positions: ~$106 million liquidated.
- Ethereum‑linked positions: ~$94 million liquidated.
These figures suggest that while traders are still active in the derivatives arena, the scale of liquidations is modest relative to the market’s overall depth.
Precious Metals Surge
The slide in the U.S. dollar has also spurred a rally in gold and silver:
- Gold is inching toward the $5,000 per ounce psychological barrier, a level not seen in more than a decade.
- Silver breached the $100 per ounce threshold for the first time, underscoring the broader appetite for hard assets.
The correlation between a softening dollar and metal price appreciation is well‑established, and the current dynamics appear to be reinforcing that relationship.
Institutional Interest Signals
The brief uptick in Bitcoin’s price earlier on Friday coincided with a Bloomberg report that Swiss banking giant UBS, which oversees more than $4 trillion in assets, is exploring crypto investment options for select private‑banking clients. While the news did not result in a sustained rally, it signals growing institutional curiosity about digital assets and could lay groundwork for broader mainstream adoption.
Key Takeaways
| Observation | Implication |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin stabilises near $90k | The flagship cryptocurrency is maintaining its price despite macro‑economic headwinds, indicating resilient demand. |
| Altcoins show mixed performance | Market participants are selective, favoring niche platforms (e.g., perpetuals) while shunning broader dApp tokens. |
| $312 m in liquidations, BTC‑dominant | Leverage remains active but manageable; Bitcoin continues to dominate the derivatives market. |
| Gold and silver approach historic highs | A weakening dollar is redirecting capital toward traditional safe‑havens, which may compete with crypto as a store of value. |
| UBS explores crypto for private clients | Institutional experimentation is deepening, potentially adding legitimacy and new capital inflows to the sector. |
Overall, the cryptocurrency market is navigating a period of equilibrium, with Bitcoin’s price anchoring near a key resistance level, altcoins oscillating in response to news flow and macro trends, and traditional assets like gold gaining traction as the dollar continues its decline. Market watchers will be looking for the next catalyst—whether regulatory developments, further institutional involvement, or shifts in fiat currency dynamics—to break the current stalemate.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/markets/bitcoin-hovers-around-usd90-000-as-dollar-drops-gold-surges
