Asia Morning Briefing: U.S. Loads Up, Germany Cashes Out as BTC Holds Near $119K

8 hours ago

Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making quality successful the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a regular summary of apical stories during U.S. hours and an overview of marketplace moves and analysis. For a elaborate overview of U.S. markets, spot CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.

As bitcoin (BTC) trades adjacent $119,500, having conscionable precocious breached through different all-time precocious of $120,000, digital plus concern products are besides breaking records for inflows – but there's a determination disparity.

According to CoinShares, U.S.-listed funds dominated with $3.74 cardinal successful inflows, portion Germany saw $85.7 cardinal successful outflows, underscoring a increasing divergence successful planetary organization sentiment.

This robust organization appetite successful the U.S. is exemplified by Vanguard’s evolving stance connected crypto investments. Despite erstwhile branding bitcoin arsenic an "immature plus class," the $10 trillion plus manager is present Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy (MSTR)'s largest shareholder, indirectly becoming the astir important Bitcoin holder successful accepted finance, arsenic Presto Research precocious noted successful a daily markets update.

Meanwhile, QCP Capital highlights successful a caller enactment that organization enthusiasm remains notably robust, exemplified by implicit $2 cardinal nett inflows into spot BTC ETFs past week.

Yet, derivatives markets suggest a much nuanced approach. Leveraged agelong positions are expanding aggressively, with perpetual backing rates approaching an elevated 30% and unfastened involvement surpassing $43 billion, levels unseen since BTC reclaimed $100k successful January. Such assertive positioning raises caution flags, recalling February's abrupt $2 cardinal liquidation event.

“Froth is building,” QCP warns.

(CoinDesk)

BTC Continues to Outpace Luxury Watches

Bitcoin (BTC) is up 27.87% year-to-date and 13.22% successful the past month, easy outperforming the luxury ticker market’s humble +4.5% rebound successful Q2, according to a recent study co-authored by Morgan Stanley and WatchCharts.

Gains were concentrated successful flagship models, Daytona, Nautilus, Royal Oak, portion brands similar Panerai, Breitling, and IWC underperformed. Inventory for watches nether $5,000 remains historically elevated, and trader turnover successful that scope continues to lag.

“Price betterment remains constrictive and concentrated,” the study notes, driven by “renewed involvement from high-end collectors and improved planetary hazard appetite.”

Both BTC and watches, it adds, thin to payment from “expansionary monetary environments and periods of wealthiness creation.”

But the speculative superior isn’t flowing evenly. Bitcoin has attracted much of the macro-driven bid, with organization inflows and 24/7 liquidity making it the preferred high-beta asset.

The pandemic-era correlation betwixt BTC and watches, some beneficiaries of casual wealth and speculative excess, broke down successful precocious 2023 with the support of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs.

BTC has since matured into a macro-sensitive, institutionally backed asset, portion watches person returned to their roots: fashion.

Market Movements:

BTC: Bitcoin concisely approached $123,000 earlier cooling off, portion crypto-related stocks held humble gains and analysts said the marketplace remains acold from euphoric, with 1 projecting BTC’s $2.5 trillion marketplace headdress could yet converge with gold’s $22 trillion.

ETH: ETH surged past $3,079 successful aboriginal trading connected beardown measurement earlier retreating successful the day to settee adjacent $3,011, forming a textbook breakout-pullback signifier with enactment holding supra the cardinal $3,000 level.

Gold: Gold slipped 0.1% aft hitting a three-week precocious amid renewed tariff threats from President Trump and absorption connected commercialized talks and U.S. data, portion metallic surged to its highest level since September 2011.

Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Tuesday, with investors brushing disconnected President Trump’s tariff shifts and turning attraction to upcoming Chinese economical data, portion Japan’s Nikkei 225 remained flat.

S&P 500:RBC Capital Markets raised its 2025 S&P 500 people to 6,250 from 5,730, but dissimilar Goldman and BofA, it expects small upside from existent levels, with the scale already supra 6,280 arsenic of July 11.

Elsewhere successful Crypto

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