- US stock market projected to slide 15% this quarter.
- Analysts ponder Bitcoin’s response to macro stimuli.
- Price response to market jolts might be uneven across the crypto market.
Bitcoin just posted its biggest-ever monthly close, but its momentum has become tangled in tariff jitters and recession whispers.
Market analysts are bracing for up to a 15% stock market slide this quarter amid a swirl of weak job data and US President Donald Trump’s tariff sabre rattling.
These fears have already seen equities lose much of the ground made in July. Crypto markets have slipped too.
For crypto traders, the question now is: can Bitcoin stay afloat amid a macro storm threatening to kneecap the stock market?
“Any pronounced weakness in US equities is likely to exert short-term pressure on Bitcoin, given its notable correlation with risk assets,” Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, an institutional crypto exchange, told DL News.
Bitcoin fell from its all-time high above $122,000 by about 7% following a massive $9 billion selloff and late-month macro jitters.
Still, some market analysts say Bitcoin has shown some strength, despite the price slide.
Bitcoin’s resilience remains propped up by its store-of-value status, massive institutional demand via exchange-traded funds, and favourable regulatory shifts, Kruger said.
These factors are likely to encourage more investors to continue buying Bitcoin and help stabilise its price, he said.
In April, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said Bitcoin’s price won’t crash the next time Trump’s tariff zigzag sends the markets cratering.
Meanwhile, US investors are piling into Bitcoin amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates in September. Some analysts project Bitcoin could trade as high as $150,000 by the end of the year.
‘Structural divergence’
Bitcoin’s possible strength in the face of market turmoil might not extend to the broader cryptocurrency market, as some analysts expect an uneven response to macro jolts.
Bitfinex analysts told DL News that the market is displaying a “structural divergence in performance between Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto asset class.”
“This divergence underscores Bitcoin’s growing role as a macro-resilient, institutional-grade asset,” Bitfinex analysts said.
That uneven response might also mean altseason, when altcoin prices soar sharply, might not happen this quarter.
Bitfinex analysts previously told DL News that altcoins still lack the structural demand and capital rotation required to trigger massive price bumps.
Instead, the market is in a “highly-reactive phase” where sharp liquidations can happen due to leverage-heavy positioning among traders.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is down 0.8% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $114,014.
- Ethereum is down 1.7% in the same period to $3,624.
What we’re reading
- SEC: $66bn liquid staking market doesn’t involve sale of securities — DL News
- Bitcoin Recovers From Choppy Weekend Trade — U
- What you missed this week — Milk Road
- CFTC is ‘Full Speed Ahead’ to Enable Spot Crypto Trading on Federally Registered Exchanges — Unchained
- Fluid passes Uniswap in daily volume on Ethereum — DL News
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
