Bitcoin Faces Fresh Rejection at $87,000 as Stocks Hover Near Record Highs

Bitcoin retreated to around $85,600 after sellers once again blocked an advance above $87,000, marking the third rejection of that level since Sept. 23. The pullback came as the Nasdaq closed at a record high while U.S. Treasury yields continued moving higher.

BTC was down 1.2% at roughly $85,600 during Asian morning trading Tuesday after sellers pushed the cryptocurrency lower from just above $87,000 on Monday. The latest rejection represents the third occasion since Sept. 23 on which $87,000 has stopped a bitcoin rally.

HYPE moved against the broader market trend, gaining 3% to approximately $94. BNB posted the weakest performance among the major tokens, falling 2.5%. Ether, XRP, SOL and DOGE each declined between 1% and 2%, while ZEC and TRX were little changed, according to CoinDesk data. Among other large tokens, ADA climbed 11%, GRT advanced 7% and NEAR added nearly 7%.

Bitcoin has continued producing “a trend of higher local lows” since the beginning of last week, but buyers have struggled to build sufficient momentum, FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email to CoinDesk.

Kuptsikevich said bitcoin is nearing the apex of a triangle pattern created by horizontal resistance and an upward-sloping support line. He warned that a break from the formation could bring increased volatility.

The overall cryptocurrency market also edged lower, with total market capitalization falling to approximately $2.93 trillion. That put it just below the $2.95 trillion resistance level identified by FxPro. The weakness in crypto came despite a stronger U.S. dollar and relatively stable equity markets.

Stocks Hold Strong

Equities continued to perform better than crypto. The Nasdaq 100 ended at a record, while the S&P 500 closed within 0.5% of its all-time high. MSCI’s Asia Pacific index also gained 0.1%.

The bond market moved in the opposite direction, with yields continuing to rise. The 10-year Treasury yield increased one basis point to 5.32%, a level not seen since 2002. The two-year yield rose two basis points to 4.83%.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio separately warned that the Treasury market could face a decline in demand from China and Japan.

For bitcoin, $87,000 remains a critical barrier. Each attempt to reach the level has been followed by a wave of selling. A sustained move above $87,000 would require enough buying pressure to absorb those sellers and keep BTC above the threshold.

Successfully clearing that resistance would indicate that selling pressure around $87,000 has weakened and could open the path toward bitcoin’s highest price levels in eight months.