Bitcoin holds above $70K, showing growing strength against stocks, gold, and software shares.

Bitcoin has climbed roughly 7% from its Sunday lows, holding firm even as equities and gold have struggled to gain traction. Analysts say the cryptocurrency’s recent performance reflects signs of seller exhaustion, shifting correlations with traditional safe-haven assets and improving flows into spot bitcoin ETFs.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, recently traded just below $71,000, recovering strongly from its Sunday evening dip. The rebound comes despite rising geopolitical tensions tied to the Iran conflict and broader macro concerns such as potential oil supply disruptions and stress in private credit markets.

Bitcoin’s relative strength has begun to stand out against other major assets. Both the Nasdaq-100 and the S&P 500 have been largely flat during the same period, while Gold — typically considered a safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty — has posted only modest gains. So far in March, bitcoin is the only one of the three showing clear upside.

The cryptocurrency also appears to be loosening its previously tight relationship with struggling software stocks. Over the past five days, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has gained about 3.75%, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF has dropped roughly 2.45%.

This divergence has prompted some analysts to cautiously suggest the crypto market may be finding a floor after months of downward pressure.

Signs of seller exhaustion

According to Aurelie Barthere, one encouraging signal is bitcoin’s limited reaction to new geopolitical developments.

Earlier in the week, a brief wave of optimism lifted both equities and cryptocurrencies alongside a temporary decline in oil prices, hinting that markets were pricing in a possible de-escalation in the Iran conflict. However, that optimism faded as the trading session progressed and risk assets surrendered part of their gains.

Despite that reversal, Barthere noted that bitcoin’s downside reaction remained relatively muted. Some traditional benchmarks, such as the Euro Stoxx 50, experienced steeper declines during the same period.

This resilience suggests that sellers in the bitcoin market may be becoming less aggressive than those in equities.

Changing relationship with gold

Another development drawing attention is bitcoin’s evolving correlation with gold.

According to Bryan Tan of the crypto trading firm Wintermute, the correlation between bitcoin and gold has recently turned positive, shifting to about +0.16 from -0.49 just a week earlier.

During the early stages of the Middle East conflict, bitcoin fell while gold rallied — a typical “risk-off” reaction. More recently, however, both assets have been rising together as the U.S. dollar weakens.

This shift could indicate that investors are increasingly viewing bitcoin and gold as assets that may benefit from dollar weakness rather than seeing bitcoin purely as a risk-sensitive trade.

“If this correlation continues trending higher, it could change the narrative around bitcoin in times of geopolitical conflict from simply ‘sell the risk asset’ to something more nuanced,” Tan said.

ETF inflows improve

Another factor supporting bitcoin’s recent performance may be improving flows into spot bitcoin ETFs.

ETF inflows had been trending negative for several months following the market peak in October. However, data from the past two weeks shows a noticeable improvement, according to Joe Edwards at the research firm Enigma.

In particular, consistent inflows into iShares Bitcoin Trust — the largest spot bitcoin ETF — suggest institutional demand may be stabilizing after a prolonged period of outflows.

Taken together, these factors are giving analysts cautious optimism that bitcoin’s market structure may be strengthening even as broader global markets remain unsettled.