Bitcoin slipped to $75,498 in Asian hours on Tuesday, pulling the crypto market out of an equities rally that sent global stocks hitting record highs overnight.
XRP, Ether and Solana each fell 1% over the past day, while Zcash (ZEC) fell 9% to $564, the biggest single move in the top 15, according to CoinDesk data. Hyperliquid (HYPE) led the pack with a 1.4% gain on the day at $59.99 and is now just behind Dogecoin on market cap. Tron (TRX) has been the quietest performer over the past week, continuing to climb as the rest of the majors remain range-bound.
What traders are seeing now is a setup forming on the Bitcoin charts. FXPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email that the price is finding support near the rising 50-day moving average, while the 200-day moving average briefly acted as resistance in early May.
Both lines are on track to cross in the coming weeks, a setup known as a golden cross, which is generally read as a bullish signal. He added that the break of any moving average before the cross could set the direction for crypto markets for the next several weeks.
Flow data has been less encouraging. Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US saw $1.74 billion in withdrawals over the past two weeks, according to CryptoOnchain. Retail traders meanwhile are taking profits, a combination that has historically preceded rapid liquidation cascades when the market turns against the crowd.
This pattern is appearing at the same time as the broader market is asking which asset signals first. Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, said that while Ether remains an important chart to watch, repeated failures below $2,400 reinforce the importance of that resistance band.
Kruger said a decisive daily close above $2,400 would mark a major technical turnaround and potentially bring renewed institutional participation.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission added another piece to the institutional puzzle on Monday, approving the listing of options on a Bitcoin index calculated from BTC prices across multiple exchanges. This is the first instrument of its kind, with existing crypto options spot ETFs on US stock exchanges limited to those linked to shares.
Meanwhile, equities moved in the other direction overnight.
The MSCI All Country World Index reached a record high for the sixth consecutive day. South Korea’s Kospi is up nearly 100% this year, making it the best-performing major equity gauge globally. Micron Technology jumped 19% in U.S. trading to surpass $1 trillion in market value, joining SK Hynix among chip stocks at that level. Brent crude slipped 1.5% to $98 on signs of progress in US-Iran talks. Treasury yields edged lower, with the 10-year at 4.47%.
Bitcoin’s lag behind equities has been one of the clearest market signals of the past month. Whether that gap closes via a chip-based equity pullback or Bitcoin catch-up depends on which side of the moving average crosses first.