Market update: Bitcoin & co resist TradFi sell-off

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump announced new punitive tariffs, causing significant losses in US stock markets. According to the announcement, starting April 2, auto imports in the US will be taxed at 25 percent. Investors in traditional markets responded by selling off: the S&P 500 closed with a minus of 1.12 percent, while the tech index Nasdaq had to lose 2 percent.

The crypto market, which recently seemed highly correlated with traditional stocks, is so far proving remarkably resilient. Bitcoin (BTC) stands at $87,400 at the time of writing, remaining above its important 200-day moving average (around $85,000). The second-largest crypto-currency, Ethereum (ETH), is holding above the psychologically important $2,000 mark for now.

Other altcoins, such as Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL), are also not showing new depth records as of yet, although some of the recent gains have been returned. It remains to be seen whether Bitcoin and consorts will hold up in the face of further turbulence in the equity markets.

Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were unable to hold their 200-day moving averages after yesterday's wave of selling. Historically, this is often seen as a signal for further corrections, which could also put pressure on the crypto market.

Nevertheless, there are increasing indications of a possible bottom forming in Bitcoin. Real Vision analyst Jamie Coutts points to the so-called Hash Ribbons, a technical bottom indicator that compares two moving averages of the Bitcoin hash rate.

"The much-discussed Bitcoin-Hash-Ribbon signal has just been activated. Although on-chain activity is still slow, the numbers that have the strongest historical correlation with future price movement are now in the green," Coutts said.