The downturn has caused serious losses for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin retreated to around 71,500 after failing to hold above 70,000. The reason is standard — risk-off sentiment in the stock markets. The S&P 500 fell by 0.4%, Nasdaq by 0.3%, dragging cryptocurrencies down with them. Here, the decline intensified: a half-percent drop in stocks turned into a three-percent decrease in Bitcoin.

Altcoins suffered even more. Solana lost about 2.7%, Ether dropped by 1.3%, Dogecoin decreased by 1.8%, XRP retreated by 1.2%. BNB held relatively steady, losing 2%. Interestingly, just a week earlier, altcoins were showing the best performance, but the weekend reversed that trend. Leverage accumulated during the midweek rally was liquidated during the pullback.

Macroeconomics is putting pressure on the market. Wholesale price data came in higher than forecast, increasing inflation fears. Mass layoffs at major companies added to the pessimism. Meanwhile, institutional flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs remained strong — $1.1 billion was added over several days. But that was not enough to overcome the overall risk-off sentiment.

Bitcoin remains in the familiar range of 60,000 to 70,000, where it has been stuck since February. The upper boundary of this range has already acted as resistance three times. The question now is whether the lower boundary will hold. Simultaneously, USDT reserves on exchanges continue to shrink — down from $60 billion to $51 billion in two months. If they fall below $50 billion, analysts warn of a potential mass sell-off.