Bitcoin hovered around $102,000 on Friday as crypto markets struggled to sustain a rally, weighed down by renewed caution in global stocks and a stronger dollar.
The total crypto market capitalization rose 1% in the past 24 hours to $3.4 trillion, its first gain after four straight days of decline, although traders remain cautious that the move is little more than a pause in the selloff.
The slight rally came as investors dumped top tech names, undoing parts of this year’s artificial intelligence rally.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500’s losses extended their losses, leaving traders questioning whether AI’s inflated valuations (and OpenAI’s trillion-dollar funding ambitions) are sustainable. Risk aversion has spread to digital assets, where speculative appetite remains low despite recent policy easing by the Federal Reserve.
“It looks more like the market is catching its breath rather than reversing,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. “Bitcoin remains above its 50-week moving average for now, but intraday charts show sellers are trying to take control again. Time is on the bears’ side unless macro sentiment improves.”
Cryptocurrency prices traded mostly lower on Friday, extending the week’s decline, as traders remained risk-averse following weakness in global stocks. bitcoin fell 1.3% in the last 24 hours to around $102,000, while Ether fell 1.1% to $3,353, deepening its 13% weekly loss. Solana’s SOL led major declines with a 1.4% daily drop and a 15% seven-day drop, while XRP fell another 4% after its recent surge in wallet activity.
Among the major altcoins, BNB and Dogecoin notched small gains of around 1%, offering a brief respite after heavy selling earlier in the week. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization was around $3.4 trillion, suggesting limited buying interest on dips. Traders say sentiment remains fragile as stronger US dollar flows and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty continue to pressure risk assets.
According to Hashdex, risk aversion and uncertainty over the Fed’s rate path continue to pressure digital assets. Meanwhile, Wintermute noted that institutional liquidity has shifted toward traditional markets, leaving cryptocurrencies to underperform other asset classes.
Still, some signs of accumulation persist. Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that “accumulated addresses” (wallets that only buy and never sell) have added more than 375,000 BTC in the last month.
At the same time, short-term holders are taking advantage of each bounce to exit with losses, a typical pattern of late corrections.
While a drop below $100,000 could invite another round of forced liquidations, traders say a stable macro backdrop – and a decisive turn in stock sentiment – would be needed to restore bullish momentum.
For now, the market remains caught between optimism about easier liquidity and the reality of a still risk-averse investment climate.
