Bitcoin rallied toward $66,000 after Tuesday’s gains in the US stock market, as cryptocurrencies sought to halt their 2026 slump.
Key takeaways:
- Bitcoin surged past $66,000 on Wednesday, rebounding in tandem with US equities.
- The Coinbase Premium Index turned positive as spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $258 million in inflows, signaling renewed demand from US-based investors.
- Although BTC’s correlation with stocks and gold has dropped to its lowest level since 2022, similar periods of divergence have historically preceded strong upside moves when correlations eventually revert.
BTC price rebounds alongside US equities
Bitcoin climbed Wednesday in step with a broader recovery in US stocks, as risk appetite returned to the market. Gains were led by AI and technology shares, which helped lift major equity indexes and supported Bitcoin’s parallel rebound.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the rebound, climbing 1.05% on the day, while the S&P 500 added 0.68%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 421 points, finishing Tuesday up 0.86%.
Crypto-linked equities also posted modest gains. Shares of Coinbase (COIN) rose 1.12%, while Strategy (MSTR) advanced 0.73%.
The sharp rebound in US equities appears to have helped ease selling pressure among crypto investors who had been reducing exposure to risk assets.
That shift is reflected in the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index — which measures the price gap between BTC on Coinbase and Binance — turning positive for the first time since Jan. 15.
A positive reading suggests stronger demand from US-based buyers. “US buyers are stepping in,” analyst Nic wrote Wednesday, adding that the index must remain in positive territory to signal sustained buying momentum.
Renewed US demand was also evident in spot Bitcoin ETFs, which logged $258 million in net inflows on Tuesday.
Bitcoin’s divergence may not last: Analysis
Although Bitcoin is often treated as a short-term risk asset, it has historically moved in close alignment with US equities, especially the S&P 500.
Over the past six months, however, that relationship has weakened considerably. The daily correlation coefficient between BTC and the S&P 500 currently stands at 0.32, while its correlation with gold has turned negative at -0.45 — signaling a notable break from prior patterns.
“Since late August, gold has surged 51%, the S&P 500 has gained 7%, and Bitcoin has dropped 43%,” onchain analytics firm Santiment said in a recent post on X.
The divergence marks Bitcoin’s weakest correlation with equities since the market turmoil following the collapse of FTX in late 2022.
“Historically, when an asset that is usually correlated breaks away in such a dramatic fashion, it typically does not remain disconnected forever,” Santiment added.
“In the long term, this unusual separation actually argues for significant upside for Bitcoin and altcoins.”
If Bitcoin resumes its historical tendency to track equities during periods of economic expansion, “it may have significant room to catch up,” Santiment concluded.
A similar perspective was shared by Darius Sit, founder and CIO of QCP Capital. Sit argued that the “Bitcoin vs. gold” narrative is often oversimplified as a direct price rivalry, when liquidity conditions and market structure play a more decisive role.
According to Sit, the current gap between equities and BTC reflects position unwinds and leverage-driven flows rather than any breakdown in Bitcoin’s longer-term thesis, adding that the divergence is more technical than fundamental in nature.
“Bitcoin still behaves like a long-term inflation hedge and an increasingly legible form of collateral.”
In 2025, Bitcoin saw a surge in adoption across institutions, banks, merchants, public companies, and even nation-states, underscoring its evolution into a more mature and widely recognized asset class for investors.
