Crypto Market Weakens as Dogecoin Falls 8% and Bitcoin Breaks Below $84K

Crypto prices weakened as rising oil prices, strong U.S. economic data and soft demand at a five-year Treasury auction drove government borrowing costs higher, with Dogecoin leading declines among major tokens.

Bitcoin traded around $83,900 during Thursday’s Asian session, down more than 2% over 24 hours after reaching almost $87,300, according to CoinDesk data. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ended Wednesday at 5.11%, a 15-basis-point increase over the day, Treasury data showed.

Dogecoin fell 7% to slightly above $0.09. Zcash, XRP and HYPE dropped between 5% and 6%, while Ether, Solana and BNB declined between 2% and 3%. TRX remained largely unchanged.

The latest pressure began in energy markets. Brent crude climbed more than 4% to nearly $104 a barrel, ending a six-session decline that had previously reduced concerns about inflation.

A strong U.S. business reading added to the upward pressure on yields. S&P Global’s flash survey showed business output growing at its fastest rate in more than five years, lifting the composite index to 58.4, its highest level since July 2021.

The Treasury market came under further pressure after the government sold $70 billion of five-year notes. The securities cleared at 5.033%, marking the highest auction yield since 2006. The result was about 3 basis points above the notes’ pre-auction trading level, indicating that investors demanded a higher yield to absorb the supply.

Rising Yields Weigh on Risk Appetite

Higher government bond yields can reduce the appeal of assets such as bitcoin that do not generate interest income. They also raise the cost of borrowing for traders with leveraged positions. Bitcoin’s sharpest move lower Wednesday followed the release of the U.S. business survey.

Bitcoin is now below $85,000, where Ledn co-founder Mauricio Di Bartolomeo has pointed to a large concentration of call options. Roughly $14 billion worth of Deribit options are scheduled to expire Friday.