Despite Poor Economic Indicators and India-Pakistan Strains, Bitcoin Stays Firm

Markets Wobble as Dallas Fed Index Hits Pandemic-Low, Bitcoin Brushes Off the Shock

A sharp downturn in U.S. manufacturing data and renewed India-Pakistan tensions stirred market unease on Tuesday, but Bitcoin (BTC) largely shrugged off the turbulence.

The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index collapsed to -35.8 in April from -16.3 the previous month — a far deeper drop than the -14.1 expected by economists, and the lowest reading since the COVID-19 crisis effectively shut down the economy in 2020. The data, usually overlooked, sent a jolt through risk markets. “All the comments are about tariffs and policy uncertainty,” noted Joe Weisenthal of Odd Lots on X. “Add it to the list of bad soft/survey data.”

Bitcoin, after dipping early in the session, bounced back and was last seen hovering just below $95,000, up 0.5% on the day. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index, excluding memecoins and stablecoins, remained flat.

Crypto equities, which had rallied sharply in the previous week, saw some profit-taking. Shares of Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), and mining firms slipped modestly. However, Janover (JNVR) and DeFi Technologies (DFTF) bucked the trend, climbing 24% and 6.5%, respectively. Their gains came despite a 3% drop in Solana (SOL), the asset both companies have been actively accumulating.

Elsewhere, gold climbed nearly 1%, reflecting risk-off sentiment, while the U.S. dollar index slid 0.6%. Equity markets recovered late-day losses, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closing slightly higher after falling more than 1% earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, geopolitical fears flared as Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, warned that an Indian military incursion could be imminent. The threat follows last week’s terrorist attack in Pahalgam, a scenic area in Indian-administered Kashmir, where 26 people were killed. Cross-border skirmishes have since resumed, fueling concerns of broader instability.