Bitcoin Hovers Near $68K
Bitcoin traded near $68,000 with whale accumulation and bullish divergence signals according to Coins News Today. Cryptocurrency markets showed volatility with BTC around $66,300 following tariff-related bounces, while Ethereum traded between $1,864-$1,987. Market sentiment remains fragile across major cryptocurrencies including XRP, SOL, and BNB.
- The recent volatility in the crypto market is linked to President Trump's announcement of a 15% global import tariff, which followed a Supreme Court ruling that deemed his previous emergency tariffs unconstitutional. This has led to increased uncertainty, prompting some investors to move from crypto to safer assets like the U.S. dollar. - On-chain data reveals a split among large Bitcoin holders, or "whales." The largest whales, holding 100,000 to 1 million BTC, have been accumulating, while those holding 10,000 to 100,000 BTC have been selling. Overall, whale balances have started to stabilize and recover from recent lows after a period of distribution in late 2025. - Ethereum has seen a significant price decline, dropping 18.67% in February 2026. This is partly due to large sales by Ethereum whales and a nearly 50% drop in net staking deposits, which suggests reduced demand and a higher available supply. All major ETH whale groups are currently holding at an unrealized loss. - The sell-off extends to altcoins, with selling pressure on centralized exchanges reaching a five-year high. Over the last 13 months, there has been a cumulative $209 billion difference between buy and sell orders for altcoins (excluding BTC and ETH). - Despite the market downturn, some altcoins are showing underlying strength in specific areas. The XRP Ledger, for instance, has surpassed Solana in the value of tokenized real-world assets, adding $354 million in the last month and closing in on BNB Chain. - In a contrasting trend, spot ETFs for Solana (SOL) and XRP saw net inflows last week, while Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs experienced significant outflows. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $315.86 million, and Ethereum ETFs recorded a $123.37 million outflow. - The market has seen over $500 million in leveraged crypto positions liquidated in a 24-hour period following the tariff news. This indicates a jittery mood among traders and has pushed the "Fear and Greed" index to a state of "extreme fear." - Ethereum's all-time high of $4,953.73 was reached on August 24, 2025, and it is currently down approximately 61.98% from that peak. The current market capitalization of Ethereum is around $231.92 billion.
