Bitcoin rose 5% on Tuesday for the first session in four away from a two-week trough, regaining its stance above the psychological barrier of $100,000.

It comes as risk appetite improved and concerns about China’s DeepSeek AI model receded, while MicroStrategy expanded its holdings of bitcoin.

The Price

Bitcoin rose 1.3% at Bitstamp to $103,347, with a session-low at $101,335.

On Monday, bitcoin lost 0.5%, the third loss in a row, plumbing a two-week trough at $97,750.

Crypto Market Value 

The market value of cryptocurrencies rose by $55 billion on Tuesday to a total of $3.662 trillion.

MicroStrategy 

Through the X platform, MicroStrategy’s CEO Micheal Saylor announced yet another round of bitcoin purchases amounting to 101,107 units, bringing the company’s total holdings to a record high.

The purchase occurred between January 22 and 27 at a total value of $1.07 billion, paying on average $105,596 per unit, with the company now holding 471,107 bitcoins over all with the average price of $64,580.

The Fed

As the Federal Reserve is expected to maintain a bullish tone at its meeting this week, it continues to heap pressure on high-risk assets such as bitcoin with investors seeking safe havens. 

The US dollar rose in European trade on Tuesday for the first time in four days away from a six-week trough after US President Trump’s statements on tariffs.

Later today the Federal Reserve will hold its first policy meeting of the year, widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged but will likely provide clues for the path ahead for US policies.

The Index

The dollar index rose 0.55% to 108.02, with a session-low at 107.43.

On Monday, the index lost 0.1%, the third loss in a row, plumbing a six-week trough at 106.97.

Trump’s Pledge

Donald Trump pledged to impose tariffs on some foreignly-manufactured products soon to force their makers to shift the production to the United States, including steel, aluminum, and copper products.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, US President Donald Trump announced plans to pressure the Federal Reserve to cut rates, and called for other countries worldwide to take similar steps.

The US Senate approved the appointment of Scott Bessent as the new US Treasury Secretary, with some reports indicating that Bessent supports the concept of total tariffs starting from 2.5%.

Following Trump’s speech, the odds of a 0.25% Fed rate cut still stood at 1% in January, but rose to 36% in March.

Later today, important US data on durable goods orders, housing prices, and consumer sentiment, will be released. 

Gold prices rose in European trade on Tuesday after marking the heftiest daily loss in 2025, with investors still shunning big positions before the Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting this year. 

The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged but will likely provide clues for the path ahead for US policies.

Prices

Gold prices rose 0.2% to $2745 an ounce, with a session-low at $2734.

On Monday, gold prices lost 1.1%, the worst loss since mid December 2024 away from a three-month high at $2786.

The Fed

Later today, the Federal Reserve will convene to decide on monetary policies, and is widely expected to maintain interest rates unchanged. 

The press release will likely provide clues on the future of US interest rates this year. 

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, US President Donald Trump announced plans to pressure the Federal Reserve to cut rates, and called for other countries worldwide to take similar steps.

US Rates

Following Trump’s speech, the odds of a 0.25% Fed rate cut still stood at 1% in January, but rose to 36% in March.

SPDR

Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust fell 3.16 tons yesterday, the fifth decline in a row to a total of 857.02 tons, the lowest since August 2024.

The euro fell in European trade on Tuesday against a basket of major rivals, giving up six-week highs against the dollar on profit-taking after US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs on European imports. 

The European Central Bank is convening this week to discuss policy tools that are appropriate to the eurozone, amid full expectations of a 0.25% interest rate cut.

The Price

The EUR/USD pair fell 0.65% today to $1.0424, with a session-high at $1.0492.

The pair was flat on Monday after hitting a six-week high earlier in the session at $1.0533.

Trump’s Threats 

Donald Trump pledged to impose tariffs on some foreignly-manufactured products soon to force their makers to shift the production to the United States, including steel, aluminum, and copper products.

It comes after previous threats of imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports by February, with similar tariff threats for the EU and China. 

The US Senate approved the appointment of Scott Bessent as the new US Treasury Secretary, with some reports indicating that Bessent supports the concept of total tariffs starting from 2.5%.

ECB

The European Central Bank is convening this week to discuss latest economic developments in the eurozone, and is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.9%, the lowest since December 2022.

Now markets await more clues on the ECB’s plans towards policy easing and interest rate cuts this year.

Interest Rate Gap

The current US-eurozone interest rate gap stands at 135 basis points and will likely expand to 160 basis points this week, hurting the euro’s standing.