The lackluster trading trend in the cryptocurrency market persisted on Tuesday, pulling bitcoin (BTC) down to approximately $93,600, reflecting a 2% decrease in the last 24 hours and a 10% decline over the past week.

The broader cryptocurrency market, as captured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, saw a 4% drop in value over the past day. Among those affected was solana (SOL), which plummeted by 16%. This decline may be linked to recent controversies surrounding the memecoin market, particularly the involvement of Argentine President Javier Milei.

$500K still in play

Geoff Kendrick from Standard Chartered has stated previously that he anticipates bitcoin will surpass $500,000 before Donald Trump’s term concludes. He expressed optimism regarding recent 13F filings indicating growing institutional interest in spot bitcoin ETFs.

Kendrick highlighted a shift in the types of buyers participating in the market, moving from retail investors to hedge funds, and now including banks and sovereign nations, with notable purchases from Goldman Sachs and Abu Dhabi.

Kendrick: “Moving forward, we would foresee more substantial long-term investments in bitcoin, starting with the significant role of Abu Dhabi.”

Solana slump

Tokens associated with solana’s trading ecosystem have also faced downturns. Major tokens from decentralized exchanges like Raydium (RAY) and Jupiter (JUP) are enduring significant losses, each down over 30% since their recent peaks.

Additionally, solana’s ecosystem must navigate challenges stemming from the recent launch of the controversial LIBRA token that resulted in Milei facing potential fraud charges and a possible impeachment. Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, noted the negative sentiment towards memecoins.

As the market awaits an unlock of certain tokens, forecasting suggests the release of approximately 15.725 million SOL, estimated to impact market dynamics considerably.