Cryptocurrencies experienced a slowdown in momentum Thursday as equities surged to new heights.
Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $80,945 during Asian hours, marking a 0.7% decrease over the past 24 hours but still showing a 6.9% increase for the week. Ether (ETH), meanwhile, fell by 2% to $2,326. The most notable underperformer was Dogecoin (DOGE), which declined by 4.4% to $0.1106 after achieving double-digit returns over the last 30 days.
XRP and BNB demonstrated more stability with XRP at $1.41 and BNB rising 1.3% to $643. Solana experienced a substantial weekly increase of 6.1%, reaching $88.06.
This crypto pullback coincided with global stock markets hitting fresh records, buoyed by optimism surrounding a U.S.-Iran ceasefire proposal. Reports suggest both nations are collaborating on an initiative to conclude their nearly ten-week conflict.
The MSCI All Country World Index rose by 0.3%, while MSCI’s Asia index increased by 1.9% to a record level, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 reaching an intraday peak. South Korea ascended past Canada as the seventh-largest equity market globally by value, driven by Softbank’s 18% rise and TSMC’s 3.3% gain. Wall Street indices reached all-time highs Wednesday, with approximately 80% of S&P 500 firms surpassing earnings expectations, according to Bloomberg.
Brent crude remained below $102 a barrel amid speculation that a U.S.-Iran agreement might restore oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Gold continued its three-day ascent to $4,700 an ounce, spurred by expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts and reduced inflation forecasts.
Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, indicated in a note that bitcoin’s next significant challenge lies at its 200-day moving average near $83,300. A moving average helps mitigate short-term fluctuations by averaging the price over a set period, with the 200-day version being a crucial long-term trend indicator for traders.
“A solid consolidation above this level would signal continued bullish dominance,” Kuptsikevich wrote, noting that the initial sign appeared one month ago when bitcoin maintained its position above the 50-day moving average. He also suggested a short-term profit-taking phase as bitcoin nears $83,000, “allowing some of the recent gains to be locked in.”
The broader structural environment remains supportive. According to analyst Darkfost, Tether’s market cap expanded by $5.9 billion over the past two months, reversing a $2 billion monthly decline trend from early 2026. Such issuances are viewed as injecting new capital into the crypto market.
In related news, Morgan Stanley suggested that U.S. banks may eventually be allowed to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets despite current regulatory constraints. The bank has already initiated a bitcoin-based ETP and plans to introduce spot crypto trading on its wealth platform later this year.
Western Union introduced USDPT, its own stablecoin based on Solana, aiming to circumvent traditional interbank settlement delays.
Additionally, BitMine increased its ether reserves by over 100,000 ETH for the third consecutive week, bringing its total to 5.18 million ETH, or roughly $13 billion, constituting approximately 4.29% of the entire supply.