Bitcoin keeps getting rejected at $87,000 as stocks hover near records

Bitcoin fell 1.2% to about $85,600 as of Tuesday Asian morning hours after sellers turned it back from just above $87,000 on Monday — marking the third time that level has capped a rally since Sept. 23.

HYPE bucked the drop with a 3% gain to about $94. BNB was the laggard, down 2.5%, while ether, XRP, SOL and DOGE each fell between 1% and 2%. ZEC and TRX were flat, according to CoinDesk data. Outside the majors, ADA jumped 11%, GRT gained 7% and NEAR rose nearly 7%.

Bitcoin has formed "a trend of higher local lows" since the start of last week, "but the bulls have been unable to gain momentum," FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email to CoinDesk.

"The price has approached the apex of the triangle formed by horizontal resistance and rising support. We should therefore be prepared for increased volatility should the price break out of this pattern," he added.

The total crypto market slipped to about $2.93 trillion, just under the $2.95 trillion that FxPro marks as resistance. The selling came even as the dollar strengthened and stock indexes held steady.

Stocks are in a stronger spot. The Nasdaq 100 closed at a record, the S&P 500 finished within 0.5% of its all-time high and MSCI's Asia Pacific gauge rose 0.1%.

Bonds kept sliding. The 10-year Treasury yield rose one basis point to 5.32%, around levels last seen in 2002, and the two-year yield climbed two basis points to 4.83%.

Elsewhere, billionaire Ray Dalio warned that the Treasury market is vulnerable to a pullback in demand from China and Japan.

Each time bitcoin has reached $87,000, a burst of selling has knocked it back. Getting past that level requires buyers who can soak up the selling and hold bitcoin above $87,000 — which would suggest the selling at that price has dried up, and clear the way to bitcoin's highest prices in eight months.