Sellers Take a Breather

Sellers of risk assets are taking a breather on Friday, with crypto markets posting sizable gains along with U.S. stocks after a week of lackluster price action.

Bitcoin topped $85,000 during U.S. hours and is now trading at $84,400, up 4.7% over the past 24 hours. All cryptocurrencies in the CoinDesk 20 Index showed gains in the same period, with Chainlink’s LINK, Solana’s SOL, and SUI leading the way.

This price action occurred alongside a renewed risk appetite in traditional markets, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes increasing by 1.7% and 2.3%, respectively. In contrast, gold retreated below $3,000 after crossing that level for the first time in history yesterday.

Today’s bounce propelled Bitcoin back above its 200-day moving average, a significant trendline traders use to gauge long-term asset price trends. Closing above this average, currently at $83,767, would signal a win for bullish traders, indicating that the worst of the correction might be over. Conversely, failure to maintain this level could suggest a deeper pullback.

Bitcoin price and its 200-day moving average (TradingView)

Cross-asset trader Bob Loukas noted that both Bitcoin and stocks still have room to grow, bouncing from oversold levels. He mentioned, “Feels like we should be close to the end of panic, for now at least, and spend at least a few weeks recovering,” indicating that the market will reassess later on.