Bitcoin fell to $75,498 on Tuesday, leaving crypto markets out of step with the stock market rally that pushed global stocks to record highs overnight.
XRP, Ether and Solana each fell as much as 1% over the past day, according to CoinDesk data, while Zcash (ZEC) fell 9% to $564, the largest move among the top 15. Hyperliquid (HYPE) held out against the cohort at $59.99, up 1.4% on the day and now sits just behind Dogecoin in market cap. Tron (TRX) was the quietest pattern last week, climbing steadily while the rest of the majors held narrow ranges.
What traders are currently observing is a pattern forming on the Bitcoin chart. FXPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email that price was finding support near the ascending 50-day moving average, while the 200-day moving average briefly acted as resistance earlier in May.
The two lines are poised to cross in the coming weeks, a pattern known as the golden cross, which is generally interpreted as a bullish signal. A breakout of either moving average ahead of the crossover could set the trend for crypto markets over the coming weeks, he said.
Flow data was less encouraging. Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have seen $1.74 billion in withdrawals over the past two weeks, according to CryptoOnchain. Meanwhile, retail traders added leverage, a combination that historically preceded strong liquidation cascades when the market turned against the crowd.
This trend is emerging just as the market as a whole is wondering which asset gives the signal first. Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, said ether remains the critical chart to watch, with repeated failures before $2,400 reinforcing the importance of this resistance band.
A decisive daily close above $2,400 would mark a major technical shift and likely lead to renewed institutional participation, Kruger said.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission added another piece to the institutional puzzle on Monday by approving the listing of options on a Bitcoin index calculated from BTC prices on several exchanges. This is the first instrument of its kind, with existing crypto options on US exchanges limited to those linked to spot ETF shares.
Meanwhile, stocks moved in the other direction overnight.
The MSCI All Country World Index rose for a sixth straight day to a record high. South Korea’s Kospi is up about 100% for the year, making it the best-performing major stock indicator in the world. Micron Technology jumped 19% in U.S. trading to surpass $1 trillion in market value, joining SK Hynix in chip stocks at that level. Brent crude slipped 1.5% to $98 on signs of progress in US-Iran talks. Treasury yields fell slightly, with the 10-year yield at 4.47%.
Bitcoin’s lag behind stocks has been one of the clearest market signals of the past month. Whether this gap closes through a chip-driven pullback in stocks or a bitcoin rally depends on which side of the moving average crosses first.
