With Gold Losing Momentum, Is Bitcoin Ready for Its Turn? Traders Target $95K as Key Resistance

Crypto Market Sees Cooldown as U.S.-China Talks Extend Timeline, Bessent Warns of Long Road Ahead

The cryptocurrency market’s recent momentum hit a speed bump on Wednesday, following Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary, warning that an official trade agreement between Washington and Beijing is likely to take several years to complete.

Bitcoin (BTC) showed a modest 2.6% gain over the last 24 hours and a more significant 12.2% increase over the past week, reaching $93,600. However, Bitcoin’s rise was overshadowed by many altcoins outperforming it. The CoinDesk 20 — a market index tracking the top 20 digital assets — jumped 4.2% in the last 24 hours. Sui (SUI) gained a remarkable 24%, while Cardano (ADA) and Chainlink (LINK) both saw a 7% uptick.

Crypto stocks followed a similar pattern, starting strong before losing some of their momentum. Miners like Bitdeer (BTDR) and Core Scientific (CORZ) initially surged, then closed up 4%. Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) saw smaller increases of 2.1% and 1.4%, respectively.

In a new development, President Donald Trump took a less aggressive tone toward China, suggesting that tariffs on Chinese goods might be reduced. Despite these comments, Bessent emphasized that no concrete deal had been struck yet, noting that any resolution could take two to three years.

“We may not see meaningful progress until the Xi-Trump summit, when a broader agreement can be reached,” said Paul Howard, director at the crypto trading firm Wincent. He explained that the market had already absorbed the harsh rhetoric, which has somewhat limited investor risk appetite in recent months.

“Once we move past the tough diplomatic stances, there’s potential for stabilization, which could be positive for assets like cryptocurrency,” Howard added.

Institutional Bitcoin Inflows Soar

In brighter news, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are listed in the U.S., have seen a record $1.3 billion in net inflows this week, per data from SoSoValue. The largest inflow occurred on Tuesday, marking the best day for Bitcoin ETFs since mid-January.

“This isn’t retail-driven excitement; this is institutional money betting on the long-term shift in the monetary landscape,” said Matt Mena, a crypto research strategist at 21Shares. “Bitcoin is increasingly being seen as a hedge in times of political and economic uncertainty, not just as a speculative asset.”

However, Mena also cautioned that Bitcoin could face resistance at the $95,000 level, signaling that a short-term pullback is a possibility before the next rally.

Could Bitcoin Follow Gold’s Path?

While Bitcoin saw gains, gold experienced a decline of 2.5%, settling at $3,290 per ounce after a four-month rally that had pushed it up by 35% to $3,500. This drop could indicate that the precious metal is cooling down, potentially signaling a shift in investor focus.

Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, a bitcoin-focused hedge fund, suggested that this change in gold’s behavior could signal a bullish future for Bitcoin. Edwards shared a chart on X showing that Bitcoin tends to mirror gold’s price movements after a few months of lag.

“Bitcoin is clearly gaining momentum,” Edwards posted. “The separation from risk assets is growing, and as Bitcoin is now widely viewed as ‘digital gold,’ it’s well-positioned to serve as a hedge against any future inflationary pressures or quantitative easing (QE).”