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.
Gold’s breakout above $5,000 is starting to look less like a spike and more like a regime shift, as bitcoin drifts sideways around $87,000 in early trading hours in Hong Kong, in a low-conviction market that continues to struggle with internal supply dynamics.
Onchain indicators suggest that the divergence reflects market structure rather than sentiment alone.
In its latest report, CryptoQuant says Bitcoin holders began selling at a loss for the first time since October 2023, with older buyers exiting their positions and new holders entering, a trend that typically marks a market in the process of consolidating rather than accelerating.
Glassnode says the market is held back by supply, with rallies repeatedly running into sellers near the prices recent buyers initially purchased at.
Options and prediction markets reinforce this view: the market views gold’s strength as persistent while dampening expectations of a near-term resurgence of the Bitcoin rally.
Glassnode writes that price continues to stagnate below key cost bases for short-term holders near $98,000, with dense oversupply above $100,000 – meaning there are enough sellers at higher levels to cap rallies and make a sustained move above $100,000 difficult in the near term.
Recent rebounds have resulted in stalled sellers and exits driven by investor losses that had accumulated during the 2025 highs, strengthening overhead resistance and keeping the upside fragile.
Market mechanisms reinforce this diagnosis.
Futures volumes remain compressed, leverage deployment is moderate, and recent price movements have occurred against a backdrop of limited liquidity rather than alongside growing participation.
On Polymarket, traders are assigning higher odds to gold holding above $5,500 through mid-year, while increasingly betting that bitcoin will see further consolidation before any further upside.
For now, gold is absorbing macro stress, while bitcoin remains in digestion mode, acting through internal supply rather than responding to external catalysts.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin is trading around $87,000, struggling to gain traction as overhead supply, low participation, and moderate leverage keep rallies vulnerable to renewed distribution.
ETFs: Ether is underperforming Bitcoin, with price action reflecting weak demand, low derivatives participation and few signs that investors are meaningfully returning to higher beta crypto assets.
Gold: Gold hit a new record high above $5,000 an ounce as investors rushed into the metal amid growing geopolitical tensions, sustained central bank buying and a weaker U.S. dollar, strengthening its role as a durable hedge against global risk.
Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei slipped as Asia-Pacific markets moved mixed amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, with a stronger yen weighing on Japanese stocks while other regional benchmarks moved unevenly.
Elsewhere in crypto
- The big US crypto bill is underway. Here’s What That Means for Everyday Users (CoinDesk)
- Ethereum Foundation Forms Post-Quantum Security Team, Adds $1M Research Prize (The Block)
