Bitcoin's price fell to $66,000 early Tuesday, wiping out last week's gains. The drop followed the U.S. government's movement of $2 billion worth of Bitcoin, sparking concerns about potential selling pressure.
The decline saw Bitcoin lose around 5% before stabilizing slightly. The U.S. Marshals Service transferred a significant amount of Bitcoin to two new wallets, with at least one suspected of being a custodial service, according to tracking service Arkham.
Solana’s SOL experienced the most substantial losses among major cryptocurrencies, dropping by 6% and reversing gains from the previous day. The drop came despite a surge in memecoin trading on the Solana network over the weekend, which had boosted on-chain trading volumes above Ethereum's usual dominance.
Other major cryptocurrencies also saw declines. Cardano’s ADA fell by 5%, while Dogecoin (DOGE) and Binance's BNB both lost 4%. XRP decreased by 3%. However, Ethereum (ETH) showed relative resilience, slipping only 1%, despite recent outflows from newly launched spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which saw $97 million in net outflows on Monday, marking the fourth consecutive day of such activity.
Analysts Warn of Potential Market Headwinds
Market analysts have noted that macroeconomic factors and a lack of new positive catalysts could weigh on the market in the near term. Last week's boost in market sentiment, driven by former U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, has waned. During his speech, Trump promised to support Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, fire SEC head Gary Gensler, and prevent the sale of seized BTC held by the U.S. government.
As the market processed these developments, analysts cautioned that upcoming interest rate decisions from major central banks—the Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve, and Bank of England—could further increase market volatility. Investors are advised to brace for potential fluctuations as the week unfolds.