What to Know:
- Cryptocurrencies faced notable losses over the weekend, with Dogecoin dropping over 8% and Pepe declining by 12%.
- Bitcoin’s price fell more than 2%, resting just above $103,600, while the CoinDesk 20 index slid down by 4.2%.
- Analysts associate this downturn with renewed tensions in U.S.-China trade relations, indicating continuing market volatility.
Cryptocurrencies started the weekend on a downturn, leading to significant losses for major coins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) which fell over 8%, and Pepe (PEPE) saw a decrease of 12%.
Bitcoin tumbled over 2% to under $104,000, trading slightly above $103,600 during Saturday’s Asian afternoon.
Ether (ETH) also saw nearly a 4% drop, while xrp (XRP), BNB Chain (BNB), Cardano’s ADA, and Solana’s SOL exhibited declines between 2-5%. Notably, Cronos Network’s CRO emerged as the sole gainer in the top 100 tokens with a 12% rise, despite lacking an immediate trigger.
Analysts are tying these market movements to the resurgence of U.S.-China trade tensions.
“Markets turned bearish on Friday due to a resurgence of tariff concerns,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, Chief Market Analyst at FxPro. “Recently, President Trump accused China via social media of breaching the recent trade truce, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that discussions with Beijing have stalled.”
The derivatives market is also indicating heightened caution among investors. Open interest in Bitcoin futures has climbed 51% since April, while options contracts have surged by 126%, based on Deribit data.
Whale wallets, known for accumulating Bitcoin this year, have recently transitioned to net selling, returning coins to exchanges — a classic indication of profit-taking.
“Bitcoin’s local support appears robust around $103K for the near future,” Kuptsikevich noted. “However, with tariff news unsettling the markets and whales scaling back risk, traders should prepare for increased volatility.”
