Bitcoin edged higher Tuesday as U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar eased slightly, giving risk assets including cryptocurrencies some breathing room.
The flagship cryptocurrency was 0.4% higher on the day at $83,387, bouncing back after slipping as low as $81,222 overnight.
Stocks related to artificial intelligence are caught in a global selloff, while crypto assets are holding up better. Bitcoin is increasingly decoupling from its strong correlation with tech stocks over 2026. Asian chipmakers saw heavy losses Tuesday on valuation concerns, rising Chinese competition and persistent geopolitical conflicts, making investors increasingly cautious.
Bitcoin's next big test is Wednesday's Consumer Price Index report, analysts at Bitfinex said in a note. U.S. inflation data will offer some clues on future interest-rate decisions by the Federal Reserve and could set the tone for crypto assets this week.
"The question for this week is whether Wednesday's U.S. [CPI] report changes the rate and yield outlook enough to give bitcoin room to move, and whether spot demand is there to carry it," the firm said. An upward movement in prices would potentially demonstrate improved spot demand, as would an improvement in net inflows into bitcoin ETFs, the analysts added.
Bitcoin's gains remain limited after a sharp retreat from the seven-month high of $87,315 reached on Sept. 21, according to LSEG. "The price has fallen through and then re-entered the $82,814-$82,035 support area, and buyers have yet to show real conviction," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
Meanwhile, bitcoin treasury firm Strategy Inc., which holds the largest bitcoin reserve of any public company in the world, announced a new purchase on Monday. The firm bought 250 bitcoins, bringing its total ownership to 848,250 coins, at an average buying price of $75,444 across its treasury. This is the second purchase the bitcoin treasury company made since the start of the month, according to Strategy's data. Its purchases are often a catalyst for how bitcoin moves in a given trading day. Strategy shares fell 1.1% on Monday.