Hello, Asia. Here’s what’s making news on the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of the top news stories during U.S. business hours and insight into market movements and analysis. For a detailed overview of US markets, see Crypto Daybook Americas from CoinDesk.
Bitcoin enters the Asian trading day with on-chain data flashing full bear market signals, as prices hover in the mid-$70,000s and global stock markets continue to search for direction.
CryptoQuant’s latest weekly report describes the weakness as structural rather than cyclical, with its Bull Score index sitting at zero while bitcoin trades well below its October high. The report claims the market is no longer digesting gains but operating with a smaller buyer base and tighter liquidity.
Data from Glassnode reinforces this picture, highlighting weak spot volumes and a demand void where selling pressure is not met by sustained absorption. Indeed, it is less a question of panic than of participation.
Institutional flows underline this change. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, which were net accumulators this time last year, have become net sellers, creating a year-over-year demand gap measured in tens of thousands of bitcoins.
At the same time, Coinbase’s premium has remained negative since October, indicating that US investors are not significantly intervening despite the price decline. Historically, sustained bull runs have coincided with strong spot demand in the United States. This engine is currently idling.
Liquidity conditions are also tightening beneath the surface. Stablecoin expansion, which typically fuels risk appetite and trading activity, has stalled, with USDT market cap growth turning negative for the first time since 2023.
Longer-term apparent demand growth has also collapsed from last year’s highs, suggesting it’s not just leverage, but a decline in participation itself. Technically, Bitcoin remains below its 365-day moving average, with on-chain valuation bands gathering major support in the $70,000-$60,000 corridor.
Added to this is a macroeconomic context in which Bitcoin increasingly behaves like high beta software rather than digital gold. Forecast markets show traders still leaning heavily toward a status quo at the Federal Reserve’s April meeting, with only modest expectations for a rate cut in June. This hesitation limits prospects for short-term liquidity relief.
Political discourse is further complicated by politics. President Donald Trump recently spoke to the press about his Fed nominee, Kevin Warsh, and said in an interview with NBC News that a Fed chairman who wanted to raise rates “wouldn’t have gotten the job,” a remark that tempers earlier optimism about the central bank’s independence.
For Asia, the result is a market defined less by shock than by its absence, where rebounds remain possible, but conviction remains thin.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin drifted lower to the mid-$70,000s after briefly testing support, with rebounds quickly fading as spot demand remained weak and tech stocks remained under pressure.
ETFs: Ether hovered just above $2,000, struggling to build momentum as overall risk-off sentiment eased and flows remained muted on major exchanges.
Gold: Gold rebounded toward the $5,000-$5,100 range, extending a volatile rally driven by safe-haven buying after U.S.-Iran tensions erupted and weak private jobs data offset mixed economic signals as traders reassessed the Fed’s outlook under Trump’s new chairman.
Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged down about 0.3% as chip and technology heavyweights followed Wall Street’s selloff, although Japanese stocks as a whole remained relatively resilient compared to their regional peers.
Elsewhere in Crypto:
- Binance denies issuing legal threats following insolvency allegations (The Block)
- Kyle Samani, Co-Founder of Multicoin Capital, Resigns After Nearly a Decade to Pursue Other Tech Areas (CoinDesk)
