Bitcoin and most altcoins bounced back on Friday as investors bought the dip after a report showed that consumer confidence had slumped.

Ripple (XRP) price jumped by 4%, while Chainlink (LINK), Bonk (BONK), and JasmyCoin (JASMY) rose by over 5%. 

The rebound followed a report showing that U.S. consumer confidence crashed to its lowest level in two years. Most consumers are worried about Donald Trump’s tariffs and their potential impact on inflation.

There are also concerns about ongoing job cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and their impact on the economy. As a result, consumers fear that the U.S. may be heading toward a recession.

Risky assets often perform well during a recession because of Federal Reserve intervention. Historically, the Fed has responded to major black swan events by cutting interest rates and implementing quantitative easing.

There are signs that the Fed may signal more interest rate cuts when it meets next week. The U.S. dollar index and U.S. bond yields have continued to decline.

These rate cut expectations explain why U.S. stocks surged on Friday. The Dow Jones Index rose by 625 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 gained 102 and 400 points, respectively. The Russell 2000, which tracks small-cap companies, climbed more than 3%. Most notably, gold jumped to a record high of $3,000 for the first time.

XRP, LINK, BONK, JASMY rise as US appears to avoid a recession

Altcoins like XRP, LINK, BONK, and Jasmy also jumped as signs emerged that the U.S. would avoid a government shutdown. In a New York Times opinion piece, Senator Chuck Schumer argued that a government shutdown would benefit Elon Musk and Donald Trump, who are pushing to cut government spending.

Further, these coins are likely rising as some investors buy the dip, considering that most of them are down by over 30% from their highest level in December. In a note to Bloomberg, an analyst from Janney Montgomery Scott said:

“Nearly everyone is looking for a bottom and to ‘buy the dip’ at some point, but the current condition of the markets has not implied any real improvement on a technical basis – the tape is simply very oversold at this stage.”

However, there’s a risk that the ongoing recovery in stocks and altcoins is part of a dead cat bounce, a temporary rebound during a broader downtrend. A DCB occurs when an asset in freefall bounces back briefly before resuming its downward trend.