Bitcoin Pops Above $88K Amid Yen Strength; ETH, ADA, XRP See Declines

Bitcoin (BTC) held steady above $88,000 early Tuesday as the Japanese yen crossed the psychological level of 140 against the U.S. dollar, as tariff concerns and risks of a Federal Reserve chairman shuffle in the states broadened the appeal of safe-haven assets.
Yen rose nearly 1% to 139.93 against the dollar, its strongest level since September. Gold surged to fresh highs at $3,494 per ounce in Asian morning hours.
Per reports, Trump is blaming the Fed for the economic fallout from the trade war if the central bank doesn’t cut rates soon — and firing the chief usurps the appearance of independence the Federal Reserve currently enjoys.
BTC added just over 1% to continue a steady rise since Sunday. Ether (ETH), Cardano’s ADA, XRP, and Solana’s SOL showed signs of profit-taking with declines of as much as 3%, CoinGecko data shows.
Kaspa’s KAS and Polygon’s POL rose as much as 9% to lead gains among mid-caps, albeit on no immediate catalysts.
Traders pointed out that gains in bitcoin amid global ongoings were cementing its place as a possible risk-off asset.
“Today’s rise is further evidence of bitcoin’s growing role as a risk-off asset,” Gerry O’Shea, Head of Global Market Insights at Hashdex, told CoinDesk in an email. “In the last five years, bitcoin has had double-digit returns in the months following major geopolitical and macro events such as the COVID pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the U.S. banking crisis in 2023.”
“Gold is now trading at its nominal all-time high, which could foreshadow strong performance from bitcoin if investors’ appetite for risk-off assets increases — while global liquidity is increasing and the US regulatory environment is rapidly improving,” O’Shea added.
Surging gold prices and bitcoin’s (BTC) relatively strong price action amid a global market sell-off have some traders revisiting the latter’s role as “digital gold” — a big narrative in bitcoin’s early years but one that has lost steam in recent times.
Meanwhile, chart watchers say bitcoin crossed a key technical indicator this week that puts it in place for a higher move in the coming days.
“Bitcoin jumped to 87,500 on Monday, testing the late March highs,” Alex Kuptsikevich, the FxPro chief market analyst, told CoinDesk. “The leading cryptocurrency managed to bounce off the 50-day moving average, around which it had been hovering for the past week and a half.”
“A solid close above the $88,000 area would signal a break in the downtrend and a return to levels above the 200-day moving average. A confident move higher from current levels would be a key signal for the entire market, once again positioning BTC as the flagship set to lead the way,” Kuptsikevich added.
Moving averages in financial markets are tools used to smooth out price data over time, showing the average price of an asset (like a stock) over a specific period. The 50-day and 200-day moving averages are commonly used because they represent medium- and long-term trends, respectively.
These periods are widely followed, making them self-fulfilling as many traders act on them, reinforcing their importance.
Here’s what a machine’s read of the market is, powered by CoinDesk’s AI-driven market insights bot.