Bitcoin was hovering around $111,000 on Thursday afternoon Hong Kong time, stable after another volatile period as China’s latest trade retaliation against the United States reignited risk aversion in global markets.
The broader crypto market has returned to caution mode, with total capitalization unchanged at around $3.8 trillion. Ether was trading near $4,000, BNB at $1,180 and Solana’s SOL above $190, while outperformed the majors with a 4% daily gain and a 21% rise for the week.
Analysts said the latest pullback looks more like digestion than panic, following last week’s record $19 billion liquidation event, with on-chain firm CryptoQuant saying the recent “decline was not panic selling but controlled deleveraging” in a weekly market note.
Sentiment data from FxPro showed the Fear Index slipped to 34, as traders continue to defend the $109,000 to $110,000 range that has served as a base since August.
“The bears seem to have had enough,” FxPro’s Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email. “Potential buyers are waiting for a clearer reason to increase risk, and trade tensions are not yet a reason for this.”
On-chain signals always tilt constructively. CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju noted that Bitcoin’s correlation with gold is hitting a multi-year high of 0.9, reinforcing the “digital gold” narrative as the two assets move in tandem during geopolitical shocks.
Ethereum developers, meanwhile, advanced testing of the Fusaka upgrade on Sepolia, while Bhutan confirmed plans to migrate its national digital ID system from Polygon to Ethereum by early 2026, a quiet sign of long-term confidence in the network’s infrastructure.
The institutional flow remains the stabilizer for some participants.
“Despite historic deleveraging, structural demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum remains firmly intact,” said Nassar Achkar, chief strategy officer at CoinW. “ETF inflows and stable coin supply growth continue to build the liquidity base – what matters now is how quickly this transforms into new risk-taking.”
Meanwhile, traders continue to watch Trump’s tariff rhetoric and Powell’s upcoming remarks as catalysts. “Rate cuts are on the table, but tariff fears are still limiting the hike,” said Nick Ruck of LVRG Research. “Bitcoin’s long-term value has investors cringing, but macroeconomic headlines keep the short term choppy.”
$110,000 is now the area to watch. If we lose this, sentiment could ultimately shift from cautious to defensive.
