Bitcoin slips while global equities surge; golden cross setup looms
Bitcoin declined to $75,498 in Asian trading Tuesday as global equities reached record highs, marking a widening divergence between crypto and traditional markets. The MSCI All Country World Index rose for its sixth consecutive day to a record, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed roughly 100% on the year, making it the best-performing major equity gauge globally.
The divergence underscores a technical inflection point for bitcoin. The asset’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages are converging and expected to cross in coming weeks, a pattern known as a golden cross that technical analysts typically interpret as bullish.
“The price is finding support near the rising 50-day moving average, while the 200-day moving average briefly acted as resistance earlier in May,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, analyst at FXPro. “The two 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. A break of either moving average before the cross could set the direction for crypto markets through the next several weeks.”
However, bitcoin’s near-term setup contains structural headwinds. Spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. experienced $1.74 billion in outflows over the past two weeks, according to CryptoOnchain data. Simultaneously, retail traders have been adding leverage, a combination that historically precedes sharp liquidation cascades.
On Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved listing of options on a bitcoin index calculated from BTC prices across multiple exchanges, described as the first instrument of its kind. Existing crypto options on U.S. stock exchanges are limited to those tied to spot ETF shares.
Ether faces its own technical hurdle. The second-largest cryptocurrency must clear $2,400 resistance to signal a broader shift in institutional sentiment.
“Ether remains the critical chart to watch, with repeated failures ahead of $2,400 reinforcing the importance of that resistance band,” said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group. “A decisive daily close above $2,400 would mark a major technical shift and likely bring renewed institutional participation.”
Altcoins showed mixed momentum. XRP, ether, and Solana each declined as much as 1% over the past day, while Zcash dropped 9% to $564, the largest single move among the top 15 cryptocurrencies. Hyperliquid rose 1.4% to $59.99 and is now positioned just behind Dogecoin by market capitalization. Tron climbed over the past week.
Broader macro conditions remained supportive for risk assets. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.47%, while Brent crude slipped 1.5% to $98. In equities, Micron Technology jumped 19% in U.S. trading, crossing a $1 trillion market value milestone. Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf surged 13% on Tuesday, with its Kentucky facility operating at 1 gigawatt capacity.
