I noticed something interesting this weekend in the crypto markets. Bitcoin returned to touch $65,700 after a failed attempt to reclaim $70,000, and overall sentiment has worsened quite a bit. It’s not just Bitcoin suffering—altcoins have taken much harder hits. Solana is down by over 6%, Ether has lost 6.2%, Dogecoin is down 5.1%, and XRP is down 4%. Practically all major tokens ended the week in negative territory, wiping out what seemed like altcoin outperformance.

The trigger was fairly classic: on Friday, the S&P 500 closed down 0.4%, the Nasdaq fell 0.3%, and the Dow lost 1.1%. Nvidia dropped another 4.2%. But the real problem was the rise in producer prices, coming in above expectations by 0.5%—this signals inflationary pressures that could prevent the Fed from cutting rates in the near future. Elsewhere, Block Inc.’s massive layoffs fed anxiety on the employment front. Crypto followed stocks lower, but with amplified volatility, as usual.

What struck me is the irony of the situation. Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States recorded $1.1 billion in inflows over three days—the best data in months. But those institutional flows weren’t enough to overcome broader unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. The leverage that had been unwound during Wednesday’s rally was pushed out during the subsequent decline. A 0.4% drop in the S&P turned into a -3% for Bitcoin and over a 6% move for the altcoins.

Dom Harz, co-founder of BOB, commented that over-analyzing short-term price movements is misleading. Bitcoin’s volatility doesn’t surprise anyone familiar with past cycles. What’s different this time is the type of capital behind the asset class.

Elsewhere, USDT stablecoin reserves on exchanges have collapsed from $60 billion to $51.1 billion over the last two months. CryptoQuant warned that if they fall below $50 billion, we could see a massive sell-off. BNB held up better than most, losing only 2.5%, while Bitcoin returned to the middle of the $60,000 to $70,000 range, where it has been stuck since the February 5 crash.

The question I’m asking myself as I enter this period is whether the bottom of the range will hold up again. Risk sentiment in U.S. stock markets has weighed heavily, and until we see better macroeconomic signals, we’ll probably keep moving within this range. Last week’s altcoin outperformance has been erased, and the market is waiting for clarity on the inflation trajectory and Fed policy.