- BTC struggles under $70K as AI disruption and permanent tariffs pressure high-beta growth assets and crypto investors.
- ETH dips below $1,900, liquidity thins, and institutional demand remains weak amid macro regime shifts.
- Gold, energy, and industrials outperform as deglobalization and AI rerating challenge growth-focused portfolios.
Bitcoin is struggling to bounce back, trading between $64,000 and $67,000 after last week’s big sell-off. Wintermute’s latest market update highlights that bigger economic forces are now driving uncertainty for crypto investors.
Instead of reacting to single events like Fed comments or tariff announcements, the market is feeling the impact of slower, longer-term pressures. AI advancements and global trade changes are testing high-growth assets, and crypto, as a risky “high-beta” investment, is taking the hit.
Besides the macro pressures, institutional demand remains muted. BTC repeatedly failed to break $70,000, and ETH dipped below $1,900, approaching a psychologically sensitive level near $1,600. Derivatives activity shows declining directional bets, with basis at multi-month lows and put skew rising.
Wintermute noted, “The absence of a recovery bid is more telling than the range itself.” Consequently, investor confidence remains defensive, with only brief, selective appetite from high-net-worth individuals in altcoins.
Structural Forces Driving the Market
Two structural trades are reshaping markets. First, AI rerating is impacting software and hardware sectors in real time. U.S. FY25 earnings combined with Anthropic’s model releases force the market to reassess growth multiples. Hence, easy AI trades are fading, replaced by volatile, sector-specific adjustments.
Second, deglobalization is now structural. Trump’s pivot from IEEPA to Section 122 signals permanent tariffs, fragmented supply chains, and elevated input costs. Moreover, geopolitical risk is becoming a consistent factor in asset allocation.
These forces attack globally integrated, software-driven growth businesses. Consequently, gold, industrials, energy, metals, and mining are outperforming while traditional growth stocks and crypto face pressure. The Fed cannot cut into sticky inflation nor tighten into slowing growth, leaving markets in a state of paralysis.
