Bitcoin remained range-bound near $88,000 on Monday as gold and silver powered to record highs before giving back part of their gains.
BTC recovered slightly from another bout of weekend selling but stayed below the roughly $90,000 level seen late Friday. Growing concern over a potential U.S. government shutdown on Jan. 31 — and the liquidity strain that could follow — was cited as a key factor behind Sunday’s selloff.
Those same macro worries failed to dent enthusiasm in precious metals. Gold surged past $5,000 and briefly traded above $5,100 for the first time on Sunday and Monday, while silver climbed as high as $118. Signs of exhaustion later emerged, with gold pulling back to around $5,043, still up 1.3% on the day, and silver retreating to $108, holding gains of roughly 7%.
“Gold and silver casually adding an entire bitcoin market cap in a single day,” crypto analyst Will Clemente wrote, highlighting the contrast between the metals rally and bitcoin’s muted response.
The macro backdrop was reinforced by a sharp move in currencies. The U.S. dollar index (DXY) slid to its weakest level since September after reports that the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan coordinated an intervention to support the yen. The dollar fell more than 1% to 154.07 per yen.
Bitcoin outlook stays cautious
Bitcoin’s failure to benefit from dollar weakness has kept near-term sentiment cautious. Analysts at Swissblock said recent price action has strengthened a bearish bias, warning that a clear break below the $84,500 support level could open the door to a deeper correction toward $74,000. They added that if support holds and risk indicators cool, it could instead create an attractive setup for buyers.
Bitfinex analysts also expect sideways trading, projecting a range between $85,000 and $94,500. They pointed to options market positioning that suggests traders are hedging short-term risks without anticipating a sharp rise in longer-term volatility.
In other words, the market is “pricing transitory risk rather than a sustained disruption to market structure,” the analysts said.
ETF outflows and policy overhang
Selling pressure has been compounded by persistent outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs, which have totaled more than $1.3 billion over the past week, signaling subdued risk appetite among investors.
Jim Ferraioli, Schwab’s director of crypto research and strategy, said bitcoin is unlikely to break decisively out of its current range without a pickup in on-chain activity, ETF inflows, derivatives positioning or miner participation.
A more meaningful catalyst, he said, would be progress on the Clarity Act, but that could be delayed by the looming risk of a government shutdown. Until then, Ferraioli expects bitcoin to continue trading between the low $80,000s and the mid-$90,000s, with major institutional players largely staying on the sidelines.
