Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market experienced a downturn as they approached Friday, with most major tokens recording losses in the past 24 hours. The decline came as traders continued to reduce exposure alongside the stock market, particularly following a pullback triggered by Nvidia’s recent earnings report.
At this moment, Bitcoin was priced around $67,766, marking a 1.5% decrease for the day, though it still held onto a 0.6% weekly gain. Ethereum mirrored these trends, also down 1.5% to hover just above $2,047. Both cryptocurrencies have remained within a narrow trading range that has characterized their price movements since the crash on February 5. A push toward $70,000 on Wednesday was seen as the upper limit of this range, while recent lows have tested the mid-section.
Despite the selling pressure, analysts suggest that the situation resembles a leverage flush rather than a fundamental breakdown of the market. Early Friday morning saw a return to green for hourly returns across the board, indicating that the majority of the losses occurred overnight, and buyers appeared to be stepping back in at current price levels.
Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, explained that the recent trading patterns align closely with broader risk markets. The Nasdaq’s decline post-Nvidia earnings led to a similar retreat in cryptocurrency values. He noted that as Bitcoin quickly approached the $70,000 mark, any stall in equity momentum prompted rapid de-risking in Bitcoin. Reis-Faria categorized this movement as a cleanup of positions rather than a reversal of long-term trends. He highlighted that during the prior rally, a significant amount of leverage had returned to the market, and when stock markets face declines, cryptocurrency tends to be the first asset to see a reduction in investments. He also pointed to elevated volatility attributed to tight liquidity across various markets.
When examining the weekly trends, the picture appears more favorable. Cardano outperformed other major assets with a 7% gain over the week, followed by Solana with a 5.5% increase, Ethereum rising 4.8%, and BNB at 4.3%. In contrast, Bitcoin’s relatively modest weekly performance suggests sustained interest in altcoins beneath the current market’s fluctuations. XRP was a notable outlier, experiencing a 3.7% drop over the last 24 hours and remaining the sole top asset in the red for the week, showing a slight decrease of 0.1%.
The broader macroeconomic context also plays a significant role. Asian equity markets are on pace for their strongest February performance in 25 years, led by significant gains in South Korean tech stocks, which have surged approximately 20% this month. This rally has attracted capital away from U.S. markets, resulting in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index set to outperform the S&P 500 for the third consecutive month.
In the ongoing structural environment for cryptocurrencies, Reis-Faria indicated that the narrative remains consistent. “We’re still in the same range we’ve been in,” he stated. “Until we see consistent new demand, these moves are going to continue. Bitcoin is behaving like a macro asset; when equities pull back, Bitcoin follows suit.”
