The digital asset market staged a dramatic reversal Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, effectively snapping a bruising downtrend that had dragged Bitcoin below the $63,000 support level just 24 hours prior. By 1:40 p.m., the top cryptocurrency surged past $69,000, hitting a localized peak of $69,562 on Bitstamp—a rapid-fire gain of more than 7%.
The volatility began over the weekend after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling dismantled President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. While the market initially cheered the ruling, the president’s subsequent bellicose rhetoric sparked fears of a renewed, more aggressive trade war. These anxieties culminated in a 48-hour sell-off, leaving investors bracing for a liquidation event during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.
However, a wave of relief washed over the markets instead as the address lacked new escalatory policy shocks. Meanwhile, the crypto market’s rally also triggered a massive short squeeze in which more than $248 million in short positions were incinerated in a four-hour window. Bitcoin shorts accounted for $136 million of those liquidations, compared to a negligible $2.5 million in long liquidations.
The rally was not limited to bitcoin; high-cap assets like ethereum ( ETH), solana ( SOL), and dogecoin (DOGE) notched double-digit gains as risk appetite returned. The relief rally echoed far beyond the crypto ecosystem, propelling global stock indices to historic heights. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.2% to an all-time high of 58,583.12, while South Korea’s KOSPI crossed the psychological 6,000 milestone for the first time.
The story was mirrored across Western Europe as key indices like the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 both notched record closes. In the commodities space, while gold posted a modest 1.26% gain, silver outperformed with a sharp 4% jump, benefiting from the broader industrial optimism.
Meanwhile, the divergence between bitcoin’s aggressive rally and gold’s steady-but-slow climb has once again emboldened critics of the digital gold narrative. While bitcoin’s correlation with high-growth tech stocks remains high, some experts argue the comparison to precious metals is far from dead.
Kurt Hemecker, CEO of Gold Token SA, views the current decoupling as cyclical rather than a fundamental shift in Bitcoin’s value proposition. He argues that Bitcoin and gold respond to similar macro themes—monetary debasement and sovereign risk—but with vastly different volatility profiles. In periods of extreme stress, investors reach for the asset with the longest track record first.
Hemecker suggests this does not invalidate the Bitcoin thesis; it simply highlights a difference in maturity and risk tolerance. While the Gold Token CEO admits there has been some tactical rotation into precious metals, he refuses to frame it as a zero-sum trade. He explained that gold’s rally reflects demand for stability and balance sheet protection, whereas crypto’s earlier weakness was more about liquidity tightening and positioning fatigue.
The CEO also explained the circumstances under which capital will move from precious metals to bitcoin.
“A clear inflection in global liquidity, stabilization in real yields, and renewed ETF or institutional inflows would be key signals,” Hemecker said. “More broadly, once investors feel comfortable moving from capital preservation back to capital growth, Bitcoin tends to benefit first, followed by higher-beta segments of the crypto market.”
- Why did Bitcoin surge after the Supreme Court ruling? Relief over no new trade war shocks in Trump’s State of the Union fueled the rally.
- How did Asian markets react to bitcoin’s rebound? Japan’s Nikkei hit a record high and South Korea’s KOSPI crossed 6,000.
- What does this mean for crypto investors? The rally signals renewed global risk appetite, boosting confidence in local adoption.
- Did European markets mirror the crypto surge? Yes, indices like the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 closed at record highs alongside Bitcoin’s jump.
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