Bitcoin Revealing: Why Crypto Is Weakening Despite Market Calm

The crypto market is currently fragile and resistant – while traditional markets are reaching records, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Cardano are falling significantly. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $83,850 and is losing momentum, although the global financial environment should actually look more favorable. This discrepancy reveals a fundamental problem: cryptocurrencies are increasingly behaving like highly volatile risk assets instead of defensive assets, keeping them decoupled from broader market movements.

Reveal Bitcoin and stay under pressure

After a volatile trading session, Bitcoin is falling back significantly. The $90,000 mark, which was still in focus at the beginning of the week, has long since passed – the price is now about 6.56 percent below this level. This is partly due to the liquidations of the past few days: Over a billion US dollars in leveraged positions were forcibly closed, which led to a massive sell-off.

The consolidation phase continues without a new upward momentum developing. Market participants report that investors are waiting for clearer signals from the stock market, policy measures and financing conditions before taking new positions. This restraint means that the Bitcoin market is in a kind of holding pattern – neither a clear uptrend nor a collapse, but a meaningless sideways movement under pressure.

Reveal altcoins: Ether, Solana and Cardano weaken

While Bitcoin itself is under pressure, the major altcoins are being hit even harder. Ethereum is falling back to about $2,790, Solana is trading around $116.24, and Cardano is hovering around $0.33. These price losses are no coincidence – they reflect that the crypto market as a whole is losing momentum.

The extent of the declines is particularly striking: Within a week, most large-cap tokens recorded losses of between 7 and 12 percent. This highlights the fragility of the market despite improved macroeconomic conditions in other areas. XRP, for example, is down about 4 percent this month to trade at $1.79 — even though at the same time, U.S.-listed spot XRP ETFs saw net inflows of $91.72 million. This discrepancy shows the ambivalent mood.

Why are cryptos falling while stocks are rising?

The macroeconomic environment should actually be crypto-friendly. The US dollar is weakening after its strong gains at the beginning of the week, which has historically partially supported Bitcoin. Asian equities are setting records, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index is at new highs, and emerging market equities are extending gains. The weak dollar should support commodities and gold – the latter is trading just below $5,000 per ounce.

But the crypto market is decoupling itself from this development. The reason is that market participants do not view cryptocurrencies as a defensive asset, but as a highly volatile extension of global risk appetite. “Crypto continues to trade as a volatility booster rather than a defensive asset,” explains Wenny Cai, Chief Operating Officer at Synfutures.

This reassessment of the risk profile explains why even calmer conditions in stocks and currencies do not automatically lead to crypto gains. Instead, digital assets are more responsive to uncertainties about monetary policy, funding costs, and regulation than crypto-specific developments.

Leverage cleansing and investor caution

The wave of liquidations initially cleared the excess debt from the system, but it also damaged investor confidence. Market participants are currently acting selectively instead of aggressively – a defensive stance that does not fit with the more widespread risk-on sentiment.

The high volatility of the crypto market also attracts large profiteers (such as institutional liquidators), but also deters conservative investors who prefer clear cash flows or returns. This leads to a structural weakness that makes it difficult for the market to grow sustainably.

Outlook: Crypto on hold

The crypto market is currently in a difficult phase. Bitcoin without knowing where the journey is going – up or further down. Traders are currently watching closely to see if the strength of stock markets and emerging markets will pull the crypto market higher, or if Bitcoin will remain under pressure as confidence slowly returns after a mixed start to the year.

The coming weeks will be decisive. As soon as the signals from stock markets, political measures and financing conditions become clearer, the crypto market is also likely to wake up from its torpor. Until then, volatility will remain the defining feature – and investors will remain on the sidelines for the time being.