Ethereum Stays Afloat as Crypto Market Sinks

It’s been another uninspiring week for Bitcoin, with the top crypto asset chopping sideways to enter the weekend below $64,500, notching another 2.6% loss in the last seven days.

It’s extra disappointing given how MicroStrategy bought another $786 million in BTC this week, which the company’s founder says it never plans to sell. Still, MicroStrategy’s demand was overpowered by an onslaught of sell pressure from other long-term Bitcoin whales, including the German government.

CryptoQuant noted that the broader crypto market is starting to lose momentum due to a lack of new investor demand. It follows, thenn, that most momentum-based meme coins like PEPE, DOGE, SHIB, and WIF are all down 5%, 9%, 13%, and 25%, respectively, on the week.

Toncoin also lost some of its momentum from last week, dropping 10% after previously rising to all-time highs on hype from projects within its gaming ecosystem. It remains a top ten crypto by market cap, and is only $300 million away from overtaking Dogecoin.

Defying the market’s momentum to some degree is Ethereum. Its trading at $3,492 as of writing, hovering within a percent of its price seven days ago as Ethereum spot ETFs inch closer to reality. Multiple asset managers have now unveiled the fee on their ETFs, and Bitwise even published a commercial advertising ETH to old-school TV audiences.

Solana—Ethereum’s top smart contract competitor—was less fortunate, sliding another 6% this week to $134.92.

One of the network’s high-flying Trump-based memecoins, DJT, amassed a $110 million market cap this week, and made headlines on rumors that it may have been launched by Trump’s team itself. One of the ex-president’s legal consultants later confirmed that the coin wasn’t launched by Trump nor his offspring.

Even crypto stocks couldn’t retain momentum this week. Coinbase (COIN) fell 8%, MicroStrategy (MSTR) fell 1.96%, and DeFi Technologies (DEFTF)—which soared after buying Bitcoin earlier this month—has cratered 29.9% this week after crypto reports spread doubt about the company online.

All the negative momentum from altcoins this month has many analysts saying the crypto bull market may already be over. Still, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes doubled down on his bullish thesis this Thursday that now is the time to ape into shitcoins and “buy the fucking dip” – before global money printers go brr.