Bitcoin fell to $75,498 in Asian hours on Tuesday, leaving crypto markets out of step with the stock rally that pushed global shares to record highs overnight.
XRP, ether and Solana were each down as much as 1% over the past 24 hours, as of CoinDesk data, while Zcash (ZEC) fell 9% to $564, the biggest single mover among the top 15. Hyperliquid (HYPE) received the cohort at $59.99, up 1.4% from the then-and-now market cap. Tron (TRX) is the quiet performer of the past week, climbing steadily while the rest of the majors kept tight ranks.
What traders now see is a setup forming on the bitcoin chart. FXPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email that price is finding support near the rising 50-day moving average, while the 200-day moving average briefly served as resistance earlier in May.
The two lines are on track to cross in the coming weeks, a setup known as a golden cross, which is generally read as a bullish signal. A break of either moving average before the crossover could set the direction for the crypto markets over the next several weeks, he said.
The flow data has been less encouraging. Spot bitcoin ETFs in the US saw $1.74 billion in withdrawals over the past two weeks, per CryptoOnchain. Retailers have added leverage in the meantime, a combination that has historically preceded sharp liquidation cascades when the market turns against volume.
The pattern emerges at the same time that the broader market is asking which asset gives the signal first. Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, said ether remains the critical chart to watch, with repeated failures ahead of $2,400 reinforcing the importance of that resistance band.
A decisive daily close above $2,400 would mark a major technical shift and likely bring renewed institutional participation, Kruger said.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission added another piece to the institutional puzzle on Monday, approving the listing of options on a bitcoin index calculated from BTC prices across multiple exchanges. It is the first instrument of its kind, with existing crypto options on US exchanges limited to those tied to spot ETF shares.
Stocks, meanwhile, went the other way last night.
The MSCI All Country World Index rose for the sixth consecutive day to a record. South Korea’s Kospi is up about 100% on the year, making it the best-performing major stock gauge globally. Micron Technology jumped 19% in US trade to cross $1 trillion in market capitalization, joining SK Hynix in chip stocks at that level. Brent crude fell 1.5% to $98 on signs of progress in US-Iran talks. Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year at 4.47%.
Bitcoin’s lagging behind stocks has been one of the cleanest market signals of the past month. Whether this gap closes through a chip-led equity pullback or a bitcoin catch-up depends on which side of the moving average crosses over first.
