Bitcoin continued to hover between the $101,000 and $102,000 range on Friday, weighed down by a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve stance and weak broader market sentiment. The cryptocurrency was trading at $102,393, down 0.79% over the past 24 hours at 11:23 AM IST.
Ethereum slipped 0.69% to $3,363, while major altcoins such as XRP, Solana, Tron, and Hyperliquid declined over 4%. In contrast, BNB, Dogecoin, and Cardano gained nearly 1%. The global cryptocurrency market capitalisation fell 1.03% to $3.41 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Also Read | Planning Rs 1 crore corpus in 10 years with Rs 40,000 SIP? Here’s how tweaking your portfolio can help as you approach retirement
According to CoinSwitch Markets Desk, BTC continues to trade between $101K-$102K, driven by last week’s hawkish Fed comments and broader macro conditions offering limited support to the crypto market. On the Upside, BTC and ETH ETFs saw inflow after 6 trading days, and liquidity remains balanced on both ends of the consolidation range, near $100.5K on the downside and above $102.5K on the upside.
Holding above $100.5K keeps sentiment constructive, with a breakout above $102.5K, potentially paving the way toward $104K-$105K. For investors, this phase also offers an opportunity to take entries in tokens from their watchlist at lower prices due to current market conditions, but with a proper risk management strategy, the CoinSwitch Markets Desk added.
In the past week, Ethereum has slipped 12.60% whereas Bitcoin has gone down by 6.81% in the same time period.
Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, said the crypto market continues to trade sideways, with Bitcoin hovering around $101,500. While market sentiment remains bearish, he noted that rising whale activity could signal a potential trend reversal in the near term.
Patel further adds that CryptoQuant data shows wallets holding 1,000-10,000 BTC added 29,600 BTC last week, while Ethereum whales bought nearly 395,000 ETH worth $1.37 billion in just the last three days. Historically, when large holders increase exposure during high fear periods, price recovery often follows within weeks. For now, $103,200 remains the immediate resistance level, with support moving down to $99,700.
Also Read | Gold and Silver ETFs shine with 51% returns in 1 year. Which is a better bet now?
The crypto market has entered a corrective phase, with total capitalisation down over 6% this week and liquidations exceeding $580 million in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin remains under pressure, facing a strong resistance wall at $105,000, with immediate resistance at $103,500-$104,000
A sustained move below $100,000 could test support at $98,800, keeping the short-term trend bearish. Ethereum is similarly weak, consolidating near $3,250-$3,220 after multiple failed recovery attempts, with downside targets around $3,150-$3,050. For both BTC and ETH, a decisive close above $105,000 and $3,500 respectively would be needed to shift momentum back toward recovery.
