Bitcoin fell back towards $69,000 on Tuesday morning, as a broader pullback in stocks rippled through crypto markets.
After trading near $71,000 earlier in the session, BTC fell to around $69,600 in early US hours, tracking a broader reversal in risk assets. Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP) are also down 2-3% over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin appears to continue following a familiar trend over the past three months. It typically rose a little more than 1% on Monday, then fell slightly below 1% on Tuesday, according to Velo data.
The move also came as software stocks reversed course, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) falling about 4%. Cryptocurrency prices have moved closely with the industry in recent months, with both trending downward since October. This relationship was on full display again, with digital assets weakening alongside this particular technology area.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock indexes were down 0.5% and 0.8%, giving up much of their Monday gains on news of U.S.-Iran talks. Global yields continue to rise, the DXY remains firm above 99 and oil is up 2% in the past 24 hours, reinforcing the broader tone of risk aversion.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks have also been under pressure. Circle (CRCL), issuer of the USDC stablecoin, led the declines, falling 16% in a sharp reversal after its recent rally that sent shares soaring more than 100% in a month. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) fell 8%. The moves came as CoinDesk reported late Monday that the latest version of the Clarity Act would not allow balance rewards, thereby limiting stablecoin returns. “This weakens a key part of the bullish argument by making USDC more difficult to evolve from a payments service to a true store of value product,” Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, said in an X article.
USDT issuer Tether, Circle’s main rival, also announced it had hired a “Big Four” accounting firm for a full audit, seen as a major step in improving confidence in USDT reserve holdings.
Changing Interest Rate Expectations
In one of the most remarkable 180-degree reversals in recent years, market participants moved, in a matter of weeks, from debating the number of central bank rate cuts in 2026 to factoring in imminent rate hikes.
According to CME FedWatch, there is now no chance of a rate cut at the April or June Federal Reserve policy meetings, and instead about a 15% chance of a rate hike. The Fed’s June meeting would likely be chaired by Kevin Warsh, whom President Trump nominated to replace Jerome Powell as head of the U.S. central bank with the supposed intention of lowering borrowing costs.
