Jim Cramer has entered the chat again, and once again the market audience cannot decide whether to take him as a warning or a contrary indicator. "It's finally happening," he wrote on X, pointing to the crypto market's sudden spillover into the S&P 500.
According to Cramer, "the crypto/spec tail is wagging the S&P dog " which can be translated as the wild swings in Bitcoin and other coins pulling the equity benchmarks with them.
For context, Bitcoin ripped past $124,000 earlier this month before getting smashed down to nearly $110,000 in just days, wiping out $19 billion in leveraged positions in just an hour candle. The S&P 500’s chart over the same period shows the mirror image — red candles appearing right after Bitcoin’s collapse. That is what Cramer calls "the tail wagging the dog."
Not only China
Broader context, however, is more complicated, as many attribute the sell-off on markets to the escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, but at the same time, for crypto, this appears to be just a trigger, and as several opinions suggest, the real reason is the Binance vs. Hyperliquid tension.
Whether or not you subscribe to the anti-Cramer doctrine, the charts are showing a very real correlation. BTC is at $111,900 today, the S&P around 6,610 — both bouncing after synchronized drawdowns.
At least if crypto truly dictates the rhythm of equities right now, then the days of dismissing Bitcoin as an isolated casino might be gone. This is what unnerves Cramer — and what excites everyone betting against him.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team