Bitcoin holds the line at $111K as China–US trade flare-up shakes global markets

The global digital assets market printed red indexes all around as Bitcoin (BTC) hovered around $111,000. This looked like the new norm after another volatile stretch in global markets.

The fresh retaliatory trade measures from China against the US reignited risk aversion. The cumulative crypto market cap dipped marginally to stand at $3.8 trillion with a 24-hour trading volume of $200 million.

Bitcoin price has dropped by 10% over the past 7 days, yet it remained up by 20% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 8% over the last 7 days. Other altcoins like XRP and Solana saw a dump of 13% and 12%, respectively. 

Traders tighten grip as Bitcoin sentiment sours

On-chain metrics point to a softening in spot Bitcoin demand over the past week. CryptoQuant’s data shows that spot demand has declined at a 30-day rate of 111,000 BTC. It is measured via the Apparent Demand metric.

The report shows that Binance-driven selling pressure appears to be a key contributor. It outweighed buying interest from other exchanges. However, there are three indicators that highlight this trend. Coinbase Premium, Funding Rate, and Taker Buy/Sell Ratio.

It mentioned that the Coinbase Premium remains in positive territory while Bitcoin price has continued to fall. This is generally a bullish sign, but it implies that Binance-based selling is dominating. Binance’s Funding Rate has recorded four consecutive days of negative readings. This signals that futures traders on the exchange are increasingly betting on short-term downside. 

On the other side, the Taker Buy/Sell Ratio has dropped to its lowest point in over a year. It reflects a surge in aggressive selling activity. Despite this short-term weakness, fundamentals remain intact, it added.

Bitcoin clings to $110K base

Analysts highlighted that the recent pullback is more a controlled deleveraging than panic. Last week recorded more than $19 billion in liquidations. It was not a mass sell-off but a forced closure of leveraged positions. Reacting to it, the crypto market cap briefly fell from $4.24 trillion to $3.79 trillion.

Amid all this chaos, Bitcoin’s correlation with gold hit a multi-year high of 0.9. It is reinforcing its “digital gold” narrative as investors sought safe-haven assets amid geopolitical shocks. Bitcoin is trading at an average price of $111,594 at the press time. Its 24-hour trading volume is down by 11% to stand at $72.6 billion.

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s ecosystem showed signs of long-term confidence. Developers’ advanced testing of the Fusaka upgrade on Sepolia. Bhutan confirmed plans to migrate its national digital ID system from Polygon to Ethereum by early 2026, reflecting institutional trust in the network. ETH is trading at an average price of $4,045 at press time.

External macro factors, including President Donald Trump’s escalation of the trade war and threatened tariffs on Chinese imports, have added a layer of uncertainty.

Regardless, the market has so far digested the volatility, with Bitcoin continuing to defend the $109,000–$110,000 range that has acted as a base since August. This shows measured optimism among traders.

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