Crypto market weakened, with altcoins falling 11% and Bitcoin consolidating at US$60,000-US$70,000
JAKARTA – Macro tensions triggered by the emergence of AI-related fear trading have intensified existing weaknesses in the crypto market, with major assets recording weekly losses of 8-11%.
Bitcoin fell to around US$62,900 on Tuesday (24/2), dropping 2.1% in a day and 7.5% over the week, extending a downward trend that has yet to produce a clear breakdown or a strong rebound.
According to Coindesk, prices remain within the US$60,000 to US$70,000 range formed after the correction on Thursday (5/2), a range that now feels more like a pattern waiting for a catalyst rather than a market bottom.
Altcoins performed even worse. Ethereum traded around US$1,829, down 8% over the week.
XRP fell 10.8%, Solana (SOL) lost 11.3%, and Dogecoin dropped nearly 10%. This poor performance reflects a market with shrinking risk appetite, and even bitcoin is seeing thinning demand.
CryptoQuant noted altcoin selling pressure at a five-year high, indicating that holders are actively distributing their assets into a market with still-limited buyers, except for large-cap coins.
Such structural selling tends to push prices down slowly without dramatic liquidation candlesticks, creating more gradual price pressure that is harder for momentum traders to exploit.
FxPro Market Analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said bitcoin’s current recovery attempts look more like consolidation than a reversal.
He pointed to a bearish pennant pattern on the daily chart, with the mid-US$65,000 area acting as a level that, if broken, could confirm a continuation of the decline, while a break above US$70,000 would invalidate the pattern.
More broadly, the US$60,000 to US$70,000 range carries historical significance, having been the peak of the entire 2021 cycle and now serving as a battleground between long-term investors adding to their positions and newer holders cutting losses.
Additional pressure comes from macro factors not directly related to crypto but drawing from the same pool of risk capital.
A report from Citrini Research highlighted the emergence of an AI scare trade, which has sparked concerns about widespread economic disruption from AI in logistics, payments, and software sectors.
This report triggered selling in related tech stocks as investors reassessed which companies stand to benefit from or be harmed by AI.
Such broad risk recalibrations typically hit crypto with a time lag.
Digital assets do not always move in lockstep with equities, but they remain sensitive to shifts in liquidity and risk positioning, and at present, sentiment in both markets is moving in the same direction. (DK/LM)
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