The market remains choppy after the chaos earlier this month. Bitcoin is up over 7% from last Friday’s lows of $102k. Ethereum and Solana are showing a similar pattern, holding gains of roughly 7% and 10% respectively from last week’s lows. The rebound has been solid, and it points to signs of seller exhaustion after the historic liquidation event.
Gold is a market worth watching closely. It rallied 67% from the start of the year to all-time highs of around $4,380 an ounce last Friday, though it has since slipped about 4.5%. In previous cycles, local tops in gold have often marked the start of major Bitcoin rallies. In 2021, gold gained 36% to new highs, and once that move stalled Bitcoin took over, running from around $11,500 to $65,000. The connection between the two has grown tighter since then, with BTC-gold correlation now above 0.84 compared with negative readings in 2021. Put simply, gold still tends to lead the big turning points, but once that signal is in, investors increasingly treat Bitcoin as the next leg of the same trade.
Beyond price action, there were some notable developments. Coinbase bought the “UpOnly” NFT for $25m, a move that underlines how capturing cultural mindshare is increasingly viewed as a driver of volumes in a crowded exchange market. Institutional signals also remain constructive. Today, JPMorgan announced plans to let institutional clients use Bitcoin and Ether as collateral for loans by the end of the year, marking a major step in Wall Street’s integration with digital assets. Corporate treasuries continue to accumulate Bitcoin, with 172 public companies worldwide now holding BTC on their balance sheets according to Bitwise, a 38% increase in Q3 alone. This steady wave of adoption is strengthening Bitcoin’s position as a treasury asset and mirrors gold’s own evolution from a transactional currency to a store of value.
Looking ahead, the key levels to watch are whether Bitcoin can hold above $102k and reclaim $113k, the short-term holder cost basis. Macro currents will remain influential, but with gold and silver both posting new highs, the backdrop is in place for digital gold to take the baton. Even so, positioning remains cautious and sentiment fragile after the liquidation wipeout earlier this month, meaning any move higher will need sustained inflows to prove it’s more than a relief bounce.