Bitcoin Taps $66k as Stock Divergence Hints at a BTC Price Rally

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied toward $66,000 after Tuesday’s gains in the US stock market, as cryptocurrencies sought to halt their 2026 slump.  

Key takeaways:

• Bitcoin rallied above $66,000 on Wednesday, recovering alongside US stocks.

• Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index flipped positive amid $258 million in ETF inflows.

• While BTC’s correlation with stocks and gold is at its weakest since 2022, it historically signaled significant upside upon reversion.

BTC price recovers in tandem with US equities

Bitcoin’s recovery Wednesday aligns closely with similar rebounds in the US stock market, with AI and tech stocks leading the market higher.

The tech-focused Nasdaq led the recovery with 1.05% daily gains, while the S&P 500 rose 0.68%. The Dow locked in a 421-point gain, closing the trading day on Tuesday 0.86% higher.

Related: Bitcoin bounces to $66K as rumors swirl over Jane Street selling algorithm

Crypto-related stocks also saw moderate gains, with crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) rising by 1.12% and Strategy (MSTR) gaining 0.73%.

The swift recovery of US equity markets appears to have played a role in easing negative pressure on crypto investors looking to cut risk asset exposure. 

This is evidenced by the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index, a metric that tracks the price difference between BTC on Coinbase and Binance, which has flipped positive for the first time since Jan. 15.

This means “US buyers are stepping in,” said analyst Nic in a post on Wednesday, adding that the index needs to stay positive to ensure sustained buying pressure. 

The return of demand in the US was also reflected by Bitcoin ETFs, which recorded $258 million in net inflows on Tuesday.

Bitcoin won’t stay disconnected forever: Analysis

Bitcoin, which is often viewed as a risk asset in the short term, has frequently moved in tandem with the stock market, particularly the S&P 500.

The past six months have seen a sustained period of this correlation breaking. The daily correlation coefficient index between BTC price and the US benchmark index, the S&P 500 index, is currently 0.32, and -0.45 with gold.

“Since late August, gold has surged +51%, the S&P 500 has gained +7%, and Bitcoin has fallen -43%,” onchain data provider Santiment said in a recent post on X.  

This marks the weakest correlation between Bitcoin and stocks since the FTX chaos in late 2022.

“Historically, when an asset that is usually correlated breaks away in this dramatic fashion, it typically does not stay disconnected forever,” Santiment said, adding:

If Bitcoin returns to its historical pattern of tracking equities during economic expansions, “it may have significant room to catch up,” Santiment concluded.

This view was echoed by the founder and CIO of trading company QCP Capital, Darius Sit, who argued that the “Bitcoin vs. gold” debate is often misread as a price contest, when the “more important driver is liquidity and market structure.”

The divergence between stocks and BTC “reflects position unwinds and leverage-driven flows, not a failure of Bitcoin’s longer-term narrative,” Sit said, adding:

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin’s adoption by institutions, banks, merchants, public companies and nation-states surged in 2025, confirming it as a maturing asset class for investors.