Cryptocurrency prices fell across all major currencies on Thursday, with ether, XRP and Solana leading the declines as traders struggled to extend this week’s brief stabilization.
Bitcoin traded near $66,700, down about 1.7% in the last 24 hours, according to market data from CoinDesk. Ether fell a similar amount to around $1,965, while XRP fell almost 5% and Solana fell close to 4%. BNB and Dogecoin were also in the red, reflecting broad-based weakness rather than token-specific moves.
The drop came even as Asian stocks rose in thin holiday trading. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose about 0.5%, Japan’s Nikkei gained about 0.85% and South Korea’s Kospi jumped about 3% to a record high.
The move followed a rally in US technology stocks after Nvidia signed a multi-year deal to supply AI chips to Meta Platforms.
Crypto did not participate in that optimism. Instead, the price action remains intense. Recent rebounds have been met with steady selling, with gains fading as soon as momentum stops.
Unlike at the beginning of the quarter, the market is no longer collapsing with every downward pressure, but it is also failing to attract sustained spot demand that would change the tone.
The dollar strengthened after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed authorities were in no rush to cut rates. Some officials even pointed to the possibility of rate increases if inflation remains stable.
A stronger dollar typically reduces global liquidity and weighs on risk assets, and the cryptocurrency pullback followed that pattern.
Gold has been doing what it does best: absorbing uncertainty with quiet strength even as risk assets move, and that contrast is sharpening 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 resistance reflects investors looking for the simplest hedge in a market still nervous about geopolitics, policies and the Federal Reserve.
“I think gold will remain a safe haven by default and will likely try to break through the hard ceiling between $5,000 and $5,100. That said, once risk appetite returns, ETF flows stabilize, and US regulations stop dragging, Bitcoin can recover considerably faster,” he said.
“After all, Bitcoin attracts liquidity faster than gold, in part because it is still sometimes considered a speculative asset.”
Oil prices maintained their recent gains amid persistent tensions between the United States and Iran, keeping geopolitical risk on the back burner. In that context, cryptocurrencies remain caught between periodic manifestations of relief and a macroeconomic environment that does not yet provide enough support to turn them into something more lasting.
