Crypto Reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
Crypto Reporter
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Bitcoin held near $92,000 on Tuesday after Monday’s sell-off, as traders stayed cautious amid renewed trade-war anxiety sparked by President Donald Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on eight European nations unless the US is allowed to buy Greenland.
Markets felt the shock first through futures and currencies as Wall Street cash markets were closed on Monday for a holiday, leaving no regular overnight session to set the tone.
Market snapshot
- Bitcoin: $92,360, down 0.4%
- Ether: $3,183, down 0.8%
- XRP: $1.96, up 0.2%
- Total crypto market cap: $3.21 trillion, down 0.3%
By early Asia hours, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures were down about 1% as investors pared exposure to US risk assets.
Asian equities dipped as the risk-off move spread, with MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific gauge down about 0.44% and Japan’s Nikkei off about 0.8%. Europe looked softer too, with futures pointing to a muted, lower open as traders digested the latest tariff timeline.
The dollar stayed under pressure and US Treasury yields climbed, with the 10-year yield rising to around 4.265%, its highest level in more than four months, as the so-called Sell America trade regained momentum in early dealing. Gold held near record levels and the Swiss franc drew fresh haven demand.
Bitcoin Trades Calmly Despite Macro Turbulence
In crypto, the price action looked calmer than the macro headlines. Bitcoin hovered near $92,000 after last week’s squeeze higher, and some desks framed the recent volatility as a leverage reset rather than a full change in trend.
Bitfinex analysts said Bitcoin showed early signs of structural improvement in 2026 after briefly pushing through the $94,000 to $95,000 resistance zone, a move they said flushed out shorts in the biggest clear-out in nearly 100 days.
They added that aggressive spot buying helped the rebound and that long-term holder distribution slowed, with realized profits dropping to about 12,800 BTC per week, well below earlier cycle peaks.
“For a more durable rally to take hold, market structure will need to transition into a regime where maturation supply begins to outweigh long-term holder spending,” the analysts said.
“Such a shift would drive long-term holder supply higher, signalling renewed conviction and reduced sell-side pressure. Historically, this configuration was last observed during Aug. 2022–Sept. 2023 and again from March 2024–July 2025, both periods that preceded stronger and more sustained trend recoveries for Bitcoin.”
Europe Prepares Countermeasures To US Tariff Push
Trump’s tariff threat drove the broader mood. He said the US would impose additional 10% import tariffs from February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain, and raise them to 25% on June 1 if no deal is reached.
European officials pushed back, and the EU began weighing retaliation if the duties advance, including reactivating a suspended tariff package worth about €93B and considering the bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, a tool designed for high-pressure trade disputes.
Attention now shifts to Davos, where Trump is set to meet global business leaders on Wednesday during the World Economic Forum, keeping trade and policy risk front and centre for markets that have started the week in defensive mode.
