Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Ticks Up As Asian Markets Gain After S&P 500 Record

Bitcoin edged higher above $92,000 on Friday as Asian stocks advanced in early trade, with investors taking their cue from a fresh record on the S&P 500 even as renewed weakness in Oracle stirred nerves around big tech and the artificial intelligence trade.

Lack of firm dip buying kept Bitcoin’s gains limited. Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at XS.com, said the market still lacks committed buyers, which leaves prices vulnerable. He noted that more than $220M in long liquidations today show leveraged traders pulling back rather than positioning for a rebound.

Those liquidations added to the sense that speculative leverage is being flushed out rather than rebuilt, a pattern that often leaves spot moves choppy even when broader risk sentiment improves.

Market snapshot

• Bitcoin: $92,331, up 2.4%
• Ether: $3,248, up 0.7%
• XRP: $2.04, up 1.6%
• Total crypto market cap: $3.23 trillion, up 1.9%

Asia Traders Watch Positioning Shifts As ETF Inflows Offer Brief Support

For traders in Asia, that backdrop keeps the focus on positioning data and funding rates as much as on the headline price.

One support pillar came from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Data provider SoSo Value reported more than $223M of net inflows on Thursday, the strongest reading in twenty days.

In the current environment, however, these flows may reflect short-term positioning rather than sticky institutional demand, and could reverse quickly if equity markets wobble again.

Bitfinex analysts said the next moves will hinge on Fed signals, Treasury market reactions, ETF flows and the behaviour of ETH relative to BTC.

They noted that the steady rise in ETH/BTC, even with low network fees, suggests capital is rotating back into Ethereum’s longer-term story, making the pair a useful gauge of risk appetite in crypto.

Global Benchmarks Hit New Highs As Traders Position For Gentler Fed Settings

Global markets have been recalibrating since the Federal Reserve delivered a third consecutive interest rate cut this week while sounding less hawkish than many feared. The move helped lift the MSCI All Country World Index to a new closing high and pushed the dollar index down to a two-month low near 98.30, as traders leaned into the idea that policy is slowly shifting toward easier settings.

Fed funds futures now imply about a 75.6% chance that the central bank will hold rates at its next meeting on Jan. 28, up from roughly 73.9% a day earlier. Traders are still betting on two cuts in 2026 even though the Fed’s latest projections point to only one.

In equity markets, MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose about 0.7%, tracking Thursday’s mostly higher close in the US, where the Dow and Russell 2000 both notched new highs while the Nasdaq dipped.

The move extended a global rally that has favoured cyclicals and small caps, a backdrop that often helps sentiment in higher beta assets such as crypto.

Japan Outperforms As Softbank Jumps, While Wall Street Futures Turn Cautious

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 outperformed in morning trade, climbing around 1%. Shares in SoftBank Group jumped about 6% after a Bloomberg News report said the conglomerate is considering an acquisition of the US data centre company Switch Inc, a deal that investors see as another way to capitalise on rising demand for AI infrastructure.

Futures pointed to a more cautious open for Wall Street. S&P 500 e-mini contracts were little changed in Asian hours, while Nasdaq futures slipped about 0.2% after Oracle shares plunged 13% overnight. The company’s heavy spending plans and weak forecasts fanned doubts over how quickly large AI investments will translate into profit, triggering a fresh round of tech selling.

Tech sentiment was mixed even within the AI complex. Broadcom projected first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, offering some reassurance, but its shares fell about 5% in late trading after it warned that margins would narrow because a higher share of sales is coming from AI.