XRP holds below its April low at $1.61 as futures Open Interest drops to $2.81 billion.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading under pressure at the time of writing on Monday, as digital assets across the board extend their correction following a turbulent week. The King of Crypto holds above $77,000 after a sharp decline that briefly tested lows last seen during April’s tariff-driven selloff at $74,476.
Altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP), are following in BTC’s footsteps, grinding lower amid declining speculative appetite. Traders remain cautious, monitoring key technical levels to gauge whether the current consolidation represents a temporary pause or signals deeper downside risk ahead.
Bitcoin continued through last week, exacerbated by a risk-off sentiment spreading across global markets after United States (US) President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair – Warsh served as Fed governor and as an economic adviser to the president.
The Fed paused its monetary policy easing cycle on Wednesday, leaving interest rates unchanged at the 3.50%-3.75% range. Fed Chair Jerome Powell took a hawkish stance during the post-meeting press conference. Moreover, the lack of signals for future rate cuts has reduced risk appetite for high-risk assets such as Bitcoin and altcoins.
Investors continued to pull funds from Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), with outflows reaching approximately $510 million on Friday. SoSoValue data shows that outflows totalled $1.49 million last week, increasing from $1.33 million the previous week. The cumulative inflow stands at $55 billion with net assets under management at approximately $107 billion.
The derivatives market continues to weaken as Bitcoin futures Open Interest (OI) falls to $52.03 billion on Monday, from $54 billion the previous day and $61 billion on Friday.
OI tracks the notional value of outstanding futures contracts; hence, low retail activity indicates that investors lack confidence in BTC’s ability to sustain an uptrend. It also means that investors are closing positions rather than opening new ones, depriving Bitcoin of the tailwind to recover.
Ethereum, similarly, faces a significant drop in both institutional and retail interest, as outflows from US-listed spot ETFs rose to approximately $253 million on Friday from $156 million the previous day. The cumulative inflow stands at $11.97 billion with net assets under management at approximately $15.86 billion.
Retail interest in Ethereum remains low, as futures OI extends its correction to $27.69 billion on Monday from $29.67 billion the previous day. The OI traded at $38 billion on Friday, underscoring the sharp drop in speculative risk appetite.
As for XRP, spot ETFs resumed inflows on Friday at nearly $17 million after recording the largest single-day outflow since launch of nearly $93 million on Thursday. The cumulative inflow currently stands at $1.18 billion, and net assets under management at $1.19 billion.
ETF flows serve as a gauge for market sentiment, with large or steady outflows indicating that investors lack confidence in XRP amid heightened Volatility.
Retail interest in XRP is evidently declining, as OI dropped to $2.81 billion on Monday, from $2.97 billion the previous day. Low retail activity indicates that investors lack confidence in the cross-border remittance token’s ability to sustain an uptrend, prompting them to sell.
Bitcoin remains above $77,000 as bulls push to regain momentum following last week’s sell-off. The demand zone at $74,476 provided the liquidity much-needed liquidity for a rebound. However, Bitcoin remains below the downtrending 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $89,326, the 100-day EMA at $93,358 and the 200-day EMA at $97,570 amid an overall bearish trend.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is below its signal line on the daily chart, which could sustain the bearish outlook and prompt investors to reduce their exposure.
A reversal above $80,000 is on the cards if investors sense stability and declining volatility, with an extended push past the 50-day EMA likely to usher in a transition from bearish to bullish market conditions.
Ethereum is trading above $2,200 but below an immediate resistance at $2,300. The intraday low at $2,157 offers support. However, the overall trend remains largely bearish, as indicated by the MACD on the daily chart.
The MACD line below the signal line, along with the expanding red histogram bars, may keep traders in defence mode as they reduce risk exposure. If the support tested at $2,111 in June breaks, Ethereum could accelerate its decline below the pivotal $2,000 level.
As for XRP, bulls are attempting to take control and push the price above April’s support at $1.61. However, overhead pressure remains apparent, as the MACD indicator on the daily chart slides deeper below the signal line while red histogram bars expand, prompting traders to reduce their exposure to risk.
Closing below the support-turned-resistance at $1.61 could keep sellers in control, opening the door to the October 10 low at $1.25.
