The Dollar index (DXY), which measures the strength of the U.S. dollar against a basket of other currencies, has dropped below the 100 mark for the first time since April 2022.

In January, research from CoinDesk noted that the DXY index was mirroring the pattern seen during President Trump’s first term — and it now appears to have done just that. The index has fallen over 10% from its recent high of 110 and is now at its lowest level in three years.

Investor sentiment continues to shift away from U.S. assets, putting further downward pressure on the dollar, as trade tensions between the U.S. and China intensify.

Just before press time, China announced an increase in tariffs on U.S. goods, raising the total levy to 125% from 84%, signaling a firm stance in the ongoing trade dispute.

Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC), which has recently behaved as a low-beta asset compared to equities, remains resilient and continues to trade above $81,000.

Activity in PowerTrade’s options market for alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) picked pace this week as heightened market volatility prompted traders to seek derivatives for hedging and speculative opportunities.

Trading volume in XRP options has soared to over $5 million this week, with most activity concentrated in short-dated expirations, data shared by PowerTrade shows. Flows have been balanced between put options at strikes ranging from $1.80 to $1.98 and calls at strikes $1.80 to $1.93.

«This activity suggests traders are positioning for significant short-term price movement—either from regulatory developments or a breakout pattern—with a nearly even balance between bullish and bearish structures,» Bernd Sischka, head of institutional sales at PowerTrade, told CoinDesk.

The two-way flow is consistent with the volatile market action, characterized by XRP sliding to a five-month low of $1.61 early this week, only to bounce back to $2, according to CoinDesk data. A call option gives the purchaser the right but not the obligation to purchase the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. A call buyer is implicitly bullish on the market, while a put buyer is bearish, looking to profit from or hedge against price swoons.

The market saw hedging activity in SOL options, with traders chasing puts at strikes ranging from $104 to $121. Programmable blockchain Solana’s SOL token briefly fell to $95 on Monday as the U.S.-China trade tussle triggered broad-based risk aversion in financial markets. Since then, the cryptocurrency has bounced to $115.

However, despite the macro jitters, traders chased the upside in dogecoin, the world’s leading joke cryptocurrency by market value, which slipped to 13 cents early this week and last changed hands at 15.7 cents. The cryptocurrency has dropped over 65% since hitting a peak of 48 cents in December.

The most popular plays have been calls at 14.5, 15.5, 17.5 and 18 cents, all expiring on April 13, a sign of speculative frenzy.

«The flow indicates pure momentum trading—short-dated, low-premium bets aimed at capturing quick surges, likely linked to social media or event-driven catalysts,» Sischka said. «[Broadly speaking], short-dated expiries and directional bets are driving altcoin options into the spotlight.»

Still, the altcoin options market is significantly smaller than the bitcoin and ether options market, led by Deribit, where contracts worth millions of dollars are traded every day.

The U.S. dollar index (DXY) has fallen below 100 and gold has surged to new all-time highs as escalating tariffs have heightened global economic uncertainty. Consequently, asset prices have taken a hit—most notably in the tech sector and cryptocurrencies.

Since reaching its all-time high of $109,000 in January, bitcoin (BTC) has declined approximately 26%. When compared to the «Magnificent Seven» tech stocks, bitcoin’s drawdown sits right in the middle, signaling its growing maturity as an asset.

Tesla (TSLA) is currently the worst performer, down nearly 50% from its peak. NVIDIA (NVDA) follows with a 31% drop. Apple (AAPL), Bitcoin, Meta (META), Google (GOOG), and Amazon (AMZN) have all declined around 26%, while Microsoft (MSFT) stands out with a relatively modest 18% drawdown.

To highlight bitcoin’s resilience in this current 3-month correction, is to compare it to a similar period during its 2021 downturn—from November 2021 to February 2022—when it plummeted 45% from $69,000 to $38,000. At that time, bitcoin was the worst performer among major tech names, though Tesla also suffered significantly.

This comparison underscores how bitcoin has grown more resilient over time as its market cycles progress and the asset continues to mature.