Good morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:
Welcome to the Asia Morning Briefing, a daily overview of top stories in US hours and an overview of market movements and analysis. For a detailed overview of US markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Diary Americas.
Since October’s flash crash, crypto has traded around a single fault line.
Glassnode identifies bitcoin’s True Market Mean near $81.3k as the level that separates time-driven pullouts from more aggressive loss realizations. In the post-October regime, that level has taken on extra weight.
The correlation data helps explain why this level matters beyond bitcoin itself. Over the past 90 days, and especially since the October 10 flash crash, large-cap cryptoassets have remained closely correlated with bitcoin, reinforcing its role as the market’s anchor.
As a result, a sustained break below the true market mean would not only increase losses in already weak tokens.
Glassnode data shows that when bitcoin trades below this level for extended periods, selling pressure has historically spread more broadly across the market.
With large cap assets still moving closely with bitcoin, while high-beta tokens have already sold off, a move below $81.3k would risk pulling this weakness back into the core of the market.
Taken together, the picture is less about calling a crash and more about identifying where the market balance lies. As long as bitcoin stays above the true market mean, losses can remain uneven.
However, if $81.3k gives way and fails to recover, Glassnode’s historical data suggests that selling pressure is more likely to spread beyond the long tail. In a post-October market defined by thin liquidity and tight large-cap correlations, that would mark a shift from a slow, frustrating decline to a more synchronized reset.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin was little changed near $86,400, down about 1% on the day and about 6.5% over the past week, as the latest pullback extended.
ETH: Ether traded around $2,830, down about 3.6% over the past 24 hours and about 15% on the week, underperforming bitcoin as the broader market weakened.
Gold: Gold has risen to record highs in 2025, with prices doubling over two years to over $4,300 per ounce. ounce, as central bank purchases, geopolitical risks, US fiscal concerns and a widening investor base lead major banks to forecast prices rising towards $5,000 in 2026.
Elsewhere in Crypto
- California’s Newsom stabs Trump, marks convicted crypto ally CZ, Ross Ulbricht (CoinDesk)
- Indian MP Moves Tokenization Bill to Democratize Investment Access for Middle Class (Decrypt)
