MW Bitcoin could rise back toward $100,000 if this happens, as dollar and stocks fall while gold rises

By Frances Yue

Bitcoin may rise back toward $100,000 if it breaks above $88,000 in the next few days, as a weakening dollar could provide tailwinds for the cryptocurrency, while bitcoin's recent strength over equities leads to renewed optimism that it may eventually serve as a store of value.

The largest cryptocurrency (BTCUSD) rose 2.6% to around $87,247 on Monday, while U.S. stocks ended sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA finishing down about 970 points. Bitcoin is still 20% lower than its all-time high at $109,225 hit on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump's inauguration day.

Investors debated what an early departure of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell might look like for financial markets, after Trump again slammed Powell on Monday.

The U.S. dollar also fell, as the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, a measure of the dollar's strength against a basket of its rivals, declined 1% on Monday.

Meanwhile, gold hit a fresh record high on Monday, as front-month gold futures(GC00) gained $97.50 per troy ounce, or roughly 3%, to $3,406.20.

While bitcoin has been mostly trading as a risk asset for the past few years, often moving in lockstep with U.S. stocks - especially tech stocks - there has been occasional divergence for the two assets during the recent market turmoil.

"The narrative of BTC as a safe haven or inflation hedge is once again gaining traction. Should this dynamic hold, it could provide a fresh tailwind for institutional BTC allocation," analysts at QCP Capital wrote.

From the technical perspective, bitcoin's 2025 downtrend line was violated earlier this month while the relative strength index, a momentum indicator, showed a bullish divergence, according to Tyler Richey, technical analyst and co-editor at the Sevens Report. It suggests that bitcoin may see a rise back toward $100,000 if the market can break above its highs in late March at near $88,000, Richey said.

Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner at Fairlead Strategies, said that if bitcoin's current resistance at between $88,200 and $88,800 is cleared, it may face its next resistance level at around $95,900.

-Frances Yue

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April 21, 2025 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)

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