Bitcoin Holds Near $111K as Traders Weigh China Retaliation, SOL, DOGE, ADA Lead Losses

Bitcoin was hovering around $111,000 on Thursday afternoon Hong Kong time, steady after another volatile stretch as China’s latest trade retaliation against the US reignited risk aversion in global markets.

The broader crypto market slipped back into cautious mode, with total market capitalization unchanged at around $3.8 trillion. Ether ETH$4,011.55 is trading near $4,000, BNB at $1,180 and Solana’s SOL is holding above $190, while DOGE$0.1969 outperformed the majors with a 4% daily gain and a 21% weekly gain.

Analysts said the latest pullback looks more like digestion than panic, following last week’s record $19 billion liquidation event, with the chain’s CryptoQuant saying the recent “decline was not panic selling but driven deleveraging” in a weekly market note.

Sentiment data from FxPro showed the fear index fell to 34, while traders continue to defend the $109,000-$110,000 range that has served as a base since August.

“The bears seem to have had their fill,” FxPro’s Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email. “Potential buyers are waiting for a clearer reason to add risk, and trade tensions are not that reason yet.”

The signals on the chain continue to tilt constructively. CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju noted that Bitcoin’s correlation with gold is at a multi-year high of 0.9, reinforcing the “digital gold” narrative as the two assets move in tandem during geopolitical upheavals.

Ethereum developers, meanwhile, advanced testing of the Fusaka upgrade to Sepolia, while Bhutan confirmed plans to migrate its national digital ID system from Polygon to Ethereum by early 2026 in a quiet sign of long-term confidence in the network’s infrastructure.

For some participants, the institutional flow remains the stabilizer.

“Despite historic deleveraging, structural demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum remains firmly intact,” said Nassar Achkar, Chief Strategy Officer at CoinW. “The influx of ETFs and growth in stablecoin supply continues to build a liquidity base – now it depends on how quickly this turns into new risk-taking.”

Meanwhile, traders continue to watch Trump’s tariff rhetoric and Powell’s other remarks for catalysts. “Rate cuts are on the table, but concerns about tariffs continue to subside,” said Nick Ruck of LVRG Research. “Bitcoin’s long-term value draws investors back, but macro headlines keep short-term choppy.”

$110,000 is now the area to watch. Lose that and sentiment could finally turn from cautious to defensive.