Bitcoin Decouples from US Stocks, 'Digital Gold' Narrative Reasserts

BlockBeats News, April 23rd, Bitcoin broke through the $90,000 mark for the first time since early March, sparking optimistic expectations in the market that it has finally decoupled from its long-standing correlation with U.S. tech stocks. On Tuesday, Bitcoin rose by 6.77%, and during the early Asian session on Wednesday, it continued its upward trend, reaching a high of $93,883 per coin. The U.S. Dollar Index, after falling to a three-year low on Monday, experienced a slight rebound. Despite a significant rebound after a sharp drop on Monday, the Nasdaq 100 Index still remains well below its high in late February and early March.

Previously, Bitcoin was briefly affected by a risk asset sell-off triggered by Trump's tariffs, but since hitting a low point on April 7th, it has bounced back by over 20%. During this process, Bitcoin's trading performance has begun to resemble that of gold, which has shown outstanding performance as an asset amidst tariff uncertainty.

Over the past week, Trump's fierce criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, accusing him of cutting rates too slowly, has exacerbated investor anxiety and reinforced the notion that the "American exceptionalism" is coming to an end. At the same time, market expectations for more details to be revealed about the "strategic Bitcoin reserve" plan in the coming weeks have also been a key catalyst for the rebound in crypto assets.

There are also signs of renewed bullish demand in Bitcoin's futures and options market. One clear signal is that the Bitcoin basis on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) – the price difference between spot and futures – has climbed to a three-month high, while the number of open interest contracts has seen a moderate increase.