Bitcoin Slides as Asian Markets Steady Amid Tech Recovery and Bank of Japan Rate Speculation
Bitcoin traded around $85,811, down by 1%, as Asian stocks stabilized following a tech-driven bounce on Wall Street, with traders focusing on a potential rate move by the Bank of Japan. Analysts at Bitfinex highlighted that institutional investors are absorbing about 13% more Bitcoin than the approximately 450 new coins mined daily, marking the first notable supply shift since early November amid concerns over ETF outflows.
Strong buying support exists in the $82,000 to $85,000 range, where a sustained hold could strengthen bullish momentum and attract increased ETF inflows. In the U.S. ETF market, Bitwise forecasts the launch of over 100 new crypto ETFs by 2026.
Dom Harz, co-founder of BOB, emphasized Bitcoin's long-term potential, noting that about 0.3% of BTC is actively utilized in native DeFi, signaling untapped liquidity and secured BTC collateral.
Meanwhile, the U.S. inflation rate slowed to 2.7%, but officials cautioned that this figure is distorted by the government shutdown and should be interpreted carefully. Markets are anticipating the Bank of Japan to increase its policy rate to 0.75% later on Friday, with a forecasted rise to 1.0% in 2026; Japan's November core CPI stood at 3.0%.
In regional equities, Japan's Nikkei index rose by 0.6%, South Korea's market gained 1.2%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index advanced 0.2% as investor confidence firmed.
