Bitcoin Steady as Dallas Fed Index Crashes and Geopolitical Tensions Rise
The Dallas Federal Reserve’s Manufacturing Index plummeted to its lowest level since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring growing concerns over the health of the U.S. economy.
Despite the grim economic data, Bitcoin (BTC) showed resilience. After a brief dip early in the U.S. trading session, the leading cryptocurrency recovered and was trading just below $95,000 late in the day, marking a 0.5% gain over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 Index, which tracks the 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap—excluding memecoins, exchange tokens, and stablecoins—remained largely unchanged.
Crypto-related equities gave back some of their recent gains. Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), and major mining firms saw modest pullbacks. However, standout performers included Janover (JNVR) and DeFi Technologies (DFTF), which surged 24% and 6.5%, respectively. The rally came even as Solana (SOL)—a token both companies have been heavily accumulating—dropped approximately 3% during U.S. trading hours.
In traditional markets, gold rose nearly 1%, while the U.S. dollar index slid 0.6%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq clawed back earlier losses to close in positive territory after both indices had dropped over 1% earlier in the session.
The Dallas Fed’s April reading came in at -35.8, a sharp decline from -16.3 in March and far below economists’ expectations of -14.1. This marked the lowest level since May 2020, when pandemic lockdowns ravaged the manufacturing sector. “Pretty horrible Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey,” commented Odd Lots podcast co-host Joe Weisenthal on X. “All the comments are about tariffs and policy uncertainty. Add it to the list of bad soft/survey data.”
Heightened tensions between India and Pakistan added further anxiety to global markets. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed an Indian military strike on Pakistani soil was imminent. The warning followed a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which left 26 people dead. Since then, the two nuclear-armed neighbors have exchanged gunfire across the contested border.
