Asia Morning Briefing: Bitcoin's Fragile Rally Is Built on Shrinking Liquidity

Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.

Bitcoin may be trading higher over the last 24 hours, with CoinDesk data showing that BTC is above $90,500, but this rally comes amid rising realized losses and weakening demand across the market.

Even as spot prices edge upward, CryptoQuant writes in a recent report that investors have been exiting positions at a loss, a pattern that often signals exhaustion rather than recovery.

CryptoQuant highlighted that large deposits are leading the latest wave of BTC inflows to exchanges, with the average deposit value jumping sharply as whales move coins to sell. Ether exchange activity followed a similar pattern, as the average ETH deposit rose to its highest level in almost three years while prices slid toward the $2,900 area.

While those flows highlight active selling pressure from larger holders, the broader on-chain picture points to a market struggling to absorb that supply. The recent surge in deposits coincided with weakening liquidity conditions, raising questions about how much real demand remains to support higher prices.

In its weekly report, Glassnode added that realized losses have climbed to levels comparable to previous cycle lows and that the short-term holder profit and loss ratio has collapsed, underscoring how little buying momentum remains. The combined data might imply that the uptick in prices may be masking deeper liquidity stress.

Until liquidity returns and demand strengthens, any further upside may prove temporary rather than a turning point.

Market Movement

BTC: Bitcoin is holding above the $90,000 level in Asia trading, but on-chain and derivatives data suggest the rebound lacks conviction and remains vulnerable if demand does not strengthen.

ETH: Ether is trading near the $2,900 zone, but rising large-holder deposits and weak demand signals point to a rebound that remains on shaky footing.

Gold: Gold climbed above $4,170 in early Wednesday trading as expectations for lower U.S. interest rates boosted demand for the metal.

Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific stocks pushed higher Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s rebound on rising Fed rate-cut hopes, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.42% and tech names like SoftBank and Advantest leading gains.

Elsewhere in Crypto

• House Democrats Issue Report Detailing Trump Crypto Ties as 'New Age of Corruption' (CoinDesk)
• DeFi’s $55B Plunge Isn’t the Disaster It Looks Like (CoinDesk)
• Tether’s USDT stability score cut to ‘weak’ level as S&P says reserves can’t absorb bitcoin drop (The Block)