Bitcoin and gold (XAU) pared losses during Friday’s Asian hours alongside a recovery in stocks as the Japanese yen gave up early gains.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value recovered to nearly $82,000 after hitting lows below $81,000 overnight, according to CoinDesk data. At the time of writing, bitcoin was testing its 50-day simple moving average, a widely followed gauge of near-term market momentum. Other cryptocurrencies, such as ether , XRP (XRP), solana (SOL), and dogecoin saw similar moves.
Crypto futures positions worth $435 million were liquidated over the past 24 hours, including $385 million in longs, a sign that leverage was skewed toward the bullish side.
Gold, a traditional haven asset, bounced back to $4,020 per ounce from an early low of $3,986, a level last seen on July 29.
Major Asian equity indices, including Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi, also rebounded from session lows. Nasdaq futures rose 0.17% to 29,190, up from 29,022 earlier in the day.
The risk-off tone had strengthened in early Asian trading as the yen climbed to 156.07 per U.S. dollar, its highest level since Sept. 18. Hotter-than-expected Japanese inflation data reinforced expectations of further Bank of Japan rate hikes, boosting the currency alongside a haven bid driven by AI-related jitters.
Yen moves often ripple through global markets because the currency has long been used to fund risk-on carry trades.
Those yen gains proved fleeting, however, with the currency quickly falling back toward 157 per U.S. dollar.
Whether the risk reset lasts may also depend on oil. WTI futures traded near $100, even after U.S. President Donald Trump invoked a Cold War-era law aimed at boosting fuel production. The move has yet to materially cool oil prices.
A sustained rise in oil could fuel global inflation and weigh on risk assets. Besides, a consistent demand for spot bitcoin ETFs is lacking for a steep price rally to materialize. On Thursday, these U.S.-listed funds lost $381 million in outflows, according to preliminary data from SoSoValue.