After a relatively calm start to the week, the two leading cryptocurrencies began to fall again on Tuesday under the pressure of bearish sentiment.

Ethereum dropped by as much as 6% to $1,994. By 6:25 a.m. New York time, it was down 5%, trading around $2,014.

Bitcoin declined by up to 2.4% to $68,666. Over the weekend, Bitcoin had hovered around the $70,000 level before falling below it on Monday. Last Friday, Bitcoin nearly touched $60,000 before rebounding.

Last week was brutal for Bitcoin, erasing all the gains made since the re-election of U.S. President Trump at the end of 2024. While the Trump administration has been viewed as more crypto-friendly, Bitcoin recently recorded its longest monthly losing streak since 2018.

Petr Kozyakov, Co-founder and CEO of Mercuryo, stated, "Bitcoin is trading just below $70,000. As the aftershocks from last week's sell-off continue to reverberate, the cryptocurrency market still appears to be searching for a clear direction."

Despite the rebound from last week's lows, risk appetite for the two major cryptocurrencies remains subdued. Bearish signals continue to trouble the Bitcoin derivatives market. The funding rate for Bitcoin perpetual contracts has remained below zero, indicating that traders are still positioning for further downside pressure.