Bitcoin holds near $111k as traders weigh China’s retaliation, sol, doge, losses on ADA lead
Bitcoin hovered around $111,000 Thursday Hong Kong time, steady after another volatile stretch as China’s latest retaliatory measures against the US reignited risk aversion across global markets.
The broader crypto market is back in caution mode, with total capitalization unchanged at around $3.8 trillion. Ether Traded near $4,000, BNB at $1,180, and Sola’s Sol holding above $190, while outperformed majors with a 4% daily gain and a 21% increase on the week.
Analysts said the latest pullback looks more like digestion than panic, following last week’s record $19 billion liquidation event, with on-chain firm cryptoquant saying the recent “decline is not a panic sell-off but a controlled deleveraging” in a weekly market note.
Sentiment data from FXPro showed the fear index slipped to 34, as traders continued to defend the $109,000 – $110,000 range that has acted as a base since August.
“The Bears seem stuffed,” FXPro’s Alex Kuptsikvich said in an email. “Potential buyers are waiting for a clearer reason to add risk, and trade tensions are not yet the reason.”
The on-chain signals are still skewed. Cryptoquant’s Ki Young Ju noted that Bitcoin’s correlation with gold is at a multi-year high of 0.9, reinforcing the “digital gold” narrative as both assets move in tandem during geopolitical shocks.
Ethereum developers, meanwhile, advanced testing the Fusaka upgrade in Sepolia, while Bhutan confirmed plans to switch its national digital ID system from polygon to Ethereum by early 2026 in a quiet sign of long-term confidence in the network’s infrastructure.
Institutional flow remains a stabilizer for some participants.
“Despite a historic deleveraging, the demand structure for Bitcoin and Ethereum remains stable,” said Nassar Achkar, chief strategy officer at Coinw. “ETF inflows and StableCoin supply growth are still building a liquidity base—what matters now is how quickly new risk-taking turns.”
Meanwhile, traders continue to watch Trump’s tariff rhetoric and Powell’s next comments for catalysts. “Rate cuts are on the table, but tariff fears still linger,” said Nick Ruck of LVRG Research. “Bitcoin’s long-term value is drawing investors, but macro headlines keep the short-term choppy.”
$110,000 is now the zone to watch. Lose that, and feelings can finally shift from cautious to defensive.
