Crypto prices staged a sharp rebound from weekend lows during early U.S. trading on Monday, alongside a notable bounce in equity indices. Bitcoin (BTC) pushed as high as $68,600, up 2.3% over 24 hours. Ether (ETH) gained 1.4%, with Solana (SOL) and XRP following similar moves.
Stocks Mostly Unfazed
About one hour into the session, the Nasdaq was down just 0.1% — after futures had earlier indicated a drop of more than 2%. The S&P 500 and DJIA logged only modest losses. The market's reaction to the Iran conflict has been notably muted.
Commodities and Dollar Rally
Safe-haven demand lifted gold 2% and crude oil 7%. The U.S. dollar index posted one of its strongest sessions in weeks, up 1%. Crypto assets, by contrast, held up well and drew buying interest.
Crypto Stocks Outperform
Blockchain-linked equities delivered even bigger gains: Circle (CRCL) jumped 12%, Strategy (MSTR) added 6%, and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) rose 4.7%. Capital appears to be rotating from traditional havens into crypto names.
Manufacturing Data Points to Expansion
The ISM manufacturing PMI came in at 52.4 for February, marking a second straight month above the 50 threshold — the first such run since Q4 2022. The Chicago Business Barometer surged to 57.7 (consensus 52.8), the second expansionary reading since November 2023 and the strongest pace of U.S. activity growth since May 2022.
March Rate Cut Off the Table
With Middle East tensions, reaccelerating manufacturing, hotter-than-expected PPI last week, and elevated oil prices, markets have virtually ruled out a rate cut at the Fed's March 18 meeting. Normally that would be a headwind for crypto, but it is possible tighter policy was already priced in.