Bitcoin Holds Steady as U.S. Manufacturing Slumps and South Asia Risks Mount
Bitcoin showed resilience Tuesday, holding near $95,000 despite a sharp downturn in U.S. manufacturing activity and escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index sank to -35.8 in April, its lowest reading since the COVID-19 lockdowns in May 2020, and well below expectations of -14.1. The steep drop spooked investors already wary of softening economic conditions. “All the comments are about tariffs and policy uncertainty,” noted Odd Lots co-host Joe Weisenthal on X.
Bitcoin briefly dipped early in the session but recovered to post a 0.5% gain over the last 24 hours. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index traded flat, reflecting muted action across major crypto assets.
Shares of Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), and crypto mining firms pulled back modestly after strong gains last week. However, Janover (JNVR) surged 24% and DeFi Technologies (DFTF) climbed 6.5%, despite a 3% decline in Solana (SOL)—a token both firms have been acquiring aggressively.
Traditional markets delivered mixed signals. Gold rose 1% as investors moved into safe havens, while the dollar index fell 0.6%. After early losses of over 1%, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished slightly higher.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions flared after Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed an Indian military operation could be imminent. The warning followed a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that left 26 people dead, sparking renewed cross-border fire between the two nations.
