Bitcoin (BTC-USD) edged up by about 1% on Thursday, climbing to $96,535 (£77,328). The cryptocurrency’s intraday range spanned from approximately $94,100 to $98,150, as investors found renewed optimism amid news that US president Donald Trump is set to begin negotiations with Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

In a recent call, Trump announced that Washington and Moscow would commence talks “immediately” to work toward a resolution, injecting a dose of optimism into global markets — even as hotter-than-expected US inflation data added pressure.

Despite a 3% year-over-year increase in the Consumer Price Index for January, exceeding December’s 2.9%, the overall global cryptocurrency market cap rallied by around 3% to reach an estimated $3.22tn.

Bitcoin’s market dominance dips as altcoins gain traction
Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) market dominance dipped by 0.64% to 59.82%, as other leading cryptocurrencies gained ground on Thursday. Ethereum (ETH-USD) rose by 2%, XRP (XRP-USD) was up 1.5%, and BNB (BNB-USD) rose over 9%.

Meanwhile, in broader markets, Asian equity benchmarks — led by Japan’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) which rose 1.3% — were buoyed by the prospect of renewed diplomatic engagement. Optimism in the region was further supported by expectations that Trump might pause some of his recently announced tariffs, offering a counterbalance to concerns over persistent US inflation.