Bitcoin tops $88,000 amid Dollar weakness; Altcoins under pressure

Bitcoin surged past $88,000 on Tuesday, supported by strong institutional inflows and macroeconomic uncertainty that triggered a flight from U.S. assets. The gains came as concerns mounted over U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies and growing fears of a potential “U.S. dollar confidence crisis.”

While Bitcoin extended its rally, the broader crypto market faced selling pressure. Major altcoins, including Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Polkadot, dropped up to 5%.

As of 1:21 PM IST, Bitcoin was trading 1% higher at $88,410. Ethereum fell 1.8% to $1,618, while XRP declined 2%, Solana 0.3%, Cardano 2%, Stellar 4%, Toncoin 3.3%, Shiba Inu 1.5%, and Polkadot 5%.

Despite the correction in altcoins, Bitcoin’s dominance pushed the global crypto market cap up by 0.11% to $2.76 trillion.
“Bitcoin continues to gain as global liquidity rises and M2 money supply expands. Institutional interest has returned, with spot ETFs seeing over $300 million in inflows, and MicroStrategy recently acquiring 6,556 BTC,” said Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex.

“BTC has broken out of its recent downtrend and is now testing key resistance near $88,200. If bulls maintain momentum, a move toward $93,000 is possible, with support at $85,000,” he added.

Also Read: Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki predicts Bitcoin will double to $200k by 2025

MicroStrategy’s latest Bitcoin purchase, worth approximately $555.8 million, further boosted investor sentiment, according to CoinSwitch Markets Desk.

Bitcoin’s market cap rose to $1.755 trillion, increasing its dominance to 63.63%. Daily trading volume surged 47.3% to $38.57 billion. Stablecoins accounted for 94.12% of the total crypto trade volume, reaching $81.4 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

“Bitcoin is testing key technical levels alongside global risk-off sentiment. Gold has rallied to $3,448, while the dollar index (DXY) dropped to a three-year low at 98.4. With $340 million in ETF inflows and MicroStrategy’s buying spree, BTC could head toward the $90,000–$92,000 resistance zone,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.

Among altcoins, Ethereum led the decline with a 3.5% drop. “Its average transaction fee has fallen to $0.168 — the lowest since 2020 — indicating weaker on-chain activity,” Subburaj noted.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 47, signalling neutral market sentiment. With Bitcoin’s dominance rising to 63.5%, analysts say altcoins may see a catch-up rally in the coming sessions if market confidence improves.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)