Bitcoin was up more than 4% over the past 24 hours shortly after U.S. equity markets closed as risk-on assets rallied a day after the U.S. government seemed to avert a shutdown, and despite the latest evidence of a brewing recession.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading above $84,000, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. BTC topped $85,000 for the first time in five days earlier in the day before retreating.
“Some renewed macro stability is seeing Bitcoin and crypto recover in tandem other risk assets,” Strahinja Savic, head of data analytics at crypto advisory FRNT Financial, wrote in a Telegram message to Decrypt. “Lower than expected inflation numbers, perception that geopolitical risk is easing, among other factors, are contributing to an easing of macro anxieties and providing a tailwind for Bitcoin.”
Savic noted that some Bitcoin bulls had “certainly used the opportunity to buy the dip…contributing to this recovery.”
Bitcoin’s rise came after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would vote for a Republican measure that would fund the government. A shutdown might have further unsettled markets already rocked by mounting evidence that the U.S. economy was headed for stagflation, in which growth slumps while prices rise.
Risk-on assets of all stripes have been swooning for weeks as the country wrestles with the growing prospect of a trade war instigated by U.S. President Trump’s tariffs on its biggest trading partners, controversial government cost-cutting measures and other macroeconomic uncertainties.
On Friday, the University of Michigan Sentiment Consumer Index, a measure of confidence in the economy, fell to its lowest level since 2022. The same survey showed expectations for inflation also increasing to their highest point in more than two years.
BTC’s rise returned the asset to over its 200-day average just a day after it had fallen below the widely watched measure for the first time in more than six months. The average is a favored indicator among investors to consider Bitcoin’s longer-term prospects.
Other major crypto assets were trading well into positive territory with Solana and Chainlink recently rising 9% and over 6% from Thursday, respectively, according to CoinGecko. Solana has been buffeted in recent weeks as meme coins which favor the blockchain have plummeted. Ethereum, which has also lost ground in recent weeks, rose more than 3.5%.
Major equity indexes closed upward with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 jumping 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively. The S&P had dropped into correction territory the previous day, meaning it had dipped at least 10% from its previous high. Gold, a traditional risk-off asset, which spiked above $3,000 for the first time in its history on Thursday, sank below the threshold on Friday.
In a text to Decrypt, Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto asset manager BitBull Capital, wrote that the Unversity of Michigan survey had likely pushed “investors toward Bitcoin as a hedge,” and noted that BlackRock had resumed Bitcoin purchases with a $25 million investment, “reinforcing institutional confidence.”
But he warned of “volatility and possible significant corrections ahead.”
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