|
|
Bitcoin often moves first when risk-off pressure spreads: Bitwise
Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent performance may be less about crypto market weakness and more about its position at the front of the risk curve. Asset management firm Bitwise said that BTC often acts as a “canary in the macro coal mine,” responding to shifts in liquidity and financial conditions before traditional markets. With equities now showing similar signs of strain, the firm sees Bitcoin’s move as part of a wider risk-off adjustment.
Bitwisesaidthat Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) reached cycle lows of $58,000 and $1,507, respectively, as other global risk assets faced mounting pressure. The Nasdaq had its sharpest daily decline in months, falling 5% and South Korea’s KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index), its benchmark stock index, triggered a temporary trading halt after a steep sell-off led by semiconductor stocks.
Bitcoin price slips as bear-market history repeats
Bitcoin hit week-to-date lows at Tuesday’s Wall Street open as analysis put $65,000 as the bulls’ level to beat.
Data from TradingView tracked 1.2% BTC price downside on the day as sell-side pressure returned ahead of key US inflation data.
A double rejection at $64,200 put BTC/USD on course for another test of the key $60,000 support level.
Commenting, trader and analyst Michaël van de Poppe said that for bulls to gain the upper hand, the price would need to surpass $65,000.
“Bitcoin is stalling beneath $65K as breaking that level would trigger a strong run to $72-74K,” he wrote in one of his latest posts on X.
XRP transaction demand falls 91.5% as traders focus on $0.65 support
Meanwhile, XRP’s (XRP) onchain activity has contracted sharply since its 2025 peak. The 90-day network fee average fell by 91.5%, while the realized profit-to-loss ratio dropped to 0.38 from 50, according to Glassnode.
The decline in activity and profitability comes as traders identify the $1.00-$0.65 region as a major area of interest.
According to Glassnode, the 90-day simple moving average of total fees paid on the XRP network has fallen to just 500 XRP from 5,900 XRP in February, a decline of 91.5%.
The network fees are often used as a proxy for transaction demand. The drop points to a sharp slowdown in activity following the speculative surge that carried XRP above $3 in the first half of 2025.
ETH futures traders lean into $1.6K range lows: Will Ether lead market recovery?
The story is shaping up slightly differently for Ether, with traders increasing their leveraged long positions despite the price of ETH being down 44% in 2026. Ether’s futures open interest at Binance has climbed to a record 3.7 million ETH, with the exchange accounting for more than 44% of total Ether futures.
Crypto analyst Darkfost noted that Ether futures activity has improved despite uncertainty driven by geopolitical tensions and weakening economic conditions.
The analyst noted that Binance now holds nearly 3.7 million ETH in open futures contracts, marking a new all-time high for Ether open interest on the exchange.
Citi launches blockchain marketplace for private companies’ shares: Report
On the tokenization front, Citigroup is launching a blockchain-based marketplace for private company shares, looking to give wealthy and institutional investors a new way to gain exposure to pre-IPO firms as Wall Street pushes deeper into tokenized finance.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the platform will use tokenized depositary receipts issued by Citi, which represent ownership interests in private companies. The offering will initially be available to foreign investors, with US access planned at a later date.
The initiative allows investors to invest in private company shares “right next to their Apple stock, Citi digital asset executive Artem Korenyuk told the Journal.
Major banks are increasingly adopting tokenization to modernize traditional financial markets. Citi argues that structuring private investments through tokenized depositary receipts offers a more transparent alternative to special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which have become a common, but often opaque, way for investors to access private companies.
