CoinDesk
Dogecoin and Hyperliquid's HYPE led this week's crypto slide, both falling roughly 10% as capital kept flowing toward stocks tied to the artificial-intelligence boom rather than major tokens. Ether dropped 8.4% to about $1,581 and XRP slid 7.8% to $1.06, while solana and tron held up better, roughly flat on the week at $72 and $0.32. Bitcoin was the steadier major, down 5.3% to around $60,345 after dipping near $58,800 on Friday before aggressive buying pushed it back into the $60K range, per CoinDesk data.
Why it matters
Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro chief market analyst, framed the Bitcoin price action as classic downtrend behavior: sharp moves toward $58K followed by fast recoveries on pending buy orders, a pattern consistent with leveraged long liquidations and steady dip demand. "Given deteriorating sentiment among institutional investors and their ability to quickly divest from cryptocurrencies to stabilise their balance sheets, it is worth preparing for continued pressure and periodic sell-off spikes by leveraged traders," he told CoinDesk. The split between majors and altcoins is widening too: the majors absorbed a softer hit while memecoins and perps tokens like HYPE bled out near double digits.
Market impact
The macro backdrop is doing crypto no favors. US spot bitcoin ETFs posted outflows all week, a hawkish Federal Reserve and a strong dollar kept risk assets under pressure, and bitcoin is still sitting on its 200-week moving average, a level that has marked extended weak stretches before. Risk appetite isn't gone, it's just selective: the equal-weight S&P 500 hit a record as money rotated out of chipmakers and into the rest of the market, and crypto isn't catching any of that flow. Bitcoin holding $60K with dip-buyers in place is the bullish counter-signal, but the regime reads as range-bound at best until ETF flows turn.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did Dogecoin and HYPE lead the weekly crypto losses?
Both tokens dropped roughly 10% as investors rotated capital toward AI-linked equities. Memecoins and smaller-cap perps tokens tend to bleed hardest when risk appetite narrows and majors absorb the softer hit.
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How did Bitcoin hold up versus the altcoins this week?
Bitcoin slipped about 5.3% to around $60,345 and repeatedly bounced from $58,000 dips on aggressive pending-order buying. Ether fell 8.4%, XRP 7.8%, while solana and tron stayed roughly flat.
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What macro pressures are weighing on crypto right now?
Three drags remain in place: persistent outflows from US spot bitcoin ETFs, a hawkish Federal Reserve, and a strong dollar. Bitcoin is also sitting on its 200-week moving average, a level that has historically marked extended weak stretches.
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Why isn't crypto catching the equity rally?
The equal-weight S&P 500 hit a record as money rotated out of chipmakers and into the broader market. Risk appetite is selective rather than absent, and the flow is staying in equities rather than spilling into digital assets.
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What did FxPro's Alex Kuptsikevich say about Bitcoin's price action?
He framed the $58K tests and fast recoveries as classic leveraged-long liquidations followed by aggressive buying on pending orders, and warned that deteriorating institutional sentiment could keep pressure on leveraged traders.
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