Bitcoin and Ethereum Decline Amid AI and Macro Economic Concerns
Bitcoin has fallen to around $92,200, down 2.3% in the last 24 hours, marking its lowest level since late April and a decline of over 14% in the past two weeks. Ethereum similarly dropped about 2% to near $3,000, briefly touching $2,960—the lowest in four months. Other cryptocurrencies such as Solana, Dogecoin, and XRP also saw declines of 4.4%, 3.7%, and 2%, respectively.
This downturn coincides with broader risk-off sentiment in the market, as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes closed down approximately 1%. Crypto liquidations have surpassed $900 million in the past 24 hours, including over $550 million in liquidated long positions, reflecting increased selling pressure.
Investors are cautious amid macroeconomic headwinds, including U.S. interest rate-cut prospects and heightened AI spending by major technology firms like Google and Microsoft. These commitments to AI have prompted concern about their near-term balance-sheet impact, leading to risk-off rotations in both crypto and traditional markets.
Market sentiment shows growing pessimism toward Ethereum, with around 60% of predictions favoring a trend toward $2,500 rather than a rebound to $4,000. Analysts describe the current downturn as a normal market correction. Industry experts such as Maja Vujinovic attribute the sell-off to actions by whales, miners, and leveraged longs liquidating positions. Stephane Ouellette notes that the market cycle is roughly halfway through and anticipates potential quick recoveries without extreme tops so far.
