Trading just below $79,000 in midday U.S trade Monday, bitcoin has bounced from its worst weekend level below $75,000.
At $78,700, BTC is higher by 2% over the past 24 hours and up 7% from its weakest price of the weekend, but still down more than 10% on a week-over-week basis. Ether is also up about 2% over the past day, but down 19% from week-ago levels.
Crypto’s weekend move “broke key short-term support and stood out for its speed and depth, even by typical weekend standards,” said Adrian Fritz, chief investment strategist at 21shares.
According to Fritz, the sell-off was triggered by another round of forced deleveraging, as over $2 billion in crypto derivatives were liquidated in a rapid burst. “Liquidations in perps accelerated the downside momentum, rather than discretionary spot selling,” he said.
U.S. stocks traded higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each ahead 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 0.9%. While bitcoin in January closed out its fourth-consecutive month of losses, expert tradfi market analyst Ryan Detrick noted the DJIA was higher for a ninth-straight month in January. That ranks among the Dow’s longest ever winning streaks, said Detrick, who reminded that future returns for stocks tend to be strong after such runs.
Gold and silver are having a volatile day, but are currently down modestly after their worst one-day sell-off since 1980 on Friday.
The modest bounce in crypto is having little effect on digital asset-related stocks, which remain down sharply across the board. Among them, Roinbhood (HOOD) is down 9%, Circle (CRCL) down 5%, and Coinbase (COIN) and Strategy (MSTR) down 3%.
Key U.S. economic data as February begins
The ISM manufacturing PMI, a key gauge of U.S. factory activity based on surveys of purchasing managers, came in hotter than expected at 52.6 in January, compared with a forecast of 48.5. This marks the first expansion in manufacturing activity in 12 months and the strongest reading since 2022.
January is typically a reorder month following the holiday period, which often results in elevated readings. This seasonal pattern was also evident in January 2025 and January 2024.
Looking ahead, investors will be awaiting this Friday’s January U.S. jobs report for clues about whether the Federal Reserve might cut rates again after pausing rate cuts at its January meeting last week.
