Bitcoin Targets $84K as US Stocks Rebound, DXY Hits 18-Month High

Bitcoin (BTC) pressed toward $84,000 at Tuesday's Wall Street open, trading near $83,800 and holding overnight gains of roughly 2%. The flagship cryptocurrency preserved its upside despite a turbulent start to the trading session, as investors weighed competing signals from equities, currencies, and bond markets. BTC/USD remained range-bound within exchange order-book liquidity, which continues to act as resistance above the $84,000 mark, per CoinGlass liquidation heatmap data.

US equities managed to brush off a sharp sell-off in South Korea's tech sector, with both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite briefly turning green before settling off less than 0.5%. The rebound followed a brutal session for Korea's KOSPI Composite Index, which shed 7.4% over two days and finished Tuesday down 5.4%. Semiconductors led the declines amid mounting concerns over AI capital expenditure and intensifying competition from China. Damien Boey, portfolio strategist at Wilson Asset Management in Sydney, told Reuters that rising bond yield volatility is now "working its way out through asset pricing across the board," cautioning that AI capex "maybe just comes off the boil a little bit, and maybe a few players are casualties in that."

Bitcoin bulls are confronting a double macro headwind this month, according to CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost, who warned that surging US dollar strength is challenging BTC's upside potential. The US dollar index (DXY) climbed to 102.57, its highest level since April 2025, representing a 5.5% gain since September 9. With bond yields circling their highest levels in nearly a quarter century, the combination of a stronger dollar and tighter financial conditions is weighing on risk assets globally. Traders are now watching upcoming US CPI data as a key catalyst for Bitcoin's next directional move.