Prices of major cryptocurrencies fell on Thursday, led by Ethereum, XRP and Solana, as traders struggled to maintain short-lived stability for the week.
Bitcoin is trading near $66,700, down about 1.7% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk market data. Ethereum fell by a similar amount to around $1,965, while XRP was down nearly 5% and Solana was down nearly 4%. BNB and Dogecoin also posted losses, reflecting general weakness rather than specific coin movements.
The decline came even as Asian shares advanced in thin holiday trading. MSCI’s Asia Pacific index outside Japan rose about 0.5%, Japan’s Nikkei rose about 0.85%, and South Korea’s Kospi rose about 3%, hitting a record high.
U.S. technology stocks rebounded after Nvidia signed a multi-year agreement to supply artificial intelligence chips to Meta Platforms.
Cryptocurrencies are not participating in this optimism. On the contrary, price action remains strong. The recent rally was met with steady selling, with gains disappearing once momentum stalled.
Unlike earlier in the quarter, the market no longer crashed with each dip, but it also failed to attract sustained spot demand, changing the tone.
The dollar strengthened after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed policymakers were in no rush to cut interest rates. Some officials have even hinted that interest rates may be raised if inflation remains high.
A stronger dollar typically tightens global liquidity and puts pressure on risk assets, and the crypto pullback has followed that pattern.
Gold has been doing what gold does best, absorbing uncertainty with quiet strength even amid wild swings in risk assets, and that contrast is fueling the debate over whether Bitcoin can still claim “digital gold” status.
Alex Tsepaev, chief strategy officer at B2PRIME Group, said in an email to CoinDesk that the metal’s resilience reflects investors seeking the simplest hedge in a market still nervous about geopolitics, policy and the Federal Reserve.
“I believe gold will continue to be the default safe haven and may try to break out of the tight cap of $5,000 to $5,100. That said, once risk appetite returns, ETF flows stabilize, and U.S. regulations are no longer a drag, Bitcoin may recover faster,” he said.
“After all, Bitcoin attracts liquidity faster than gold, in part because it is still sometimes called a speculative asset.”
Oil prices maintained recent gains amid ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions, keeping geopolitical risks within bounds. Against this backdrop, cryptocurrencies remain stuck between cyclical relief rallies and macro conditions that are not strong enough to transform them into something more permanent.
