Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies moved lower early Wednesday, as digital assets failed to regain the positive momentum that has characterized the sector for much of this year.
The price of the largest crypto was down 4.7% over the past 24 hours to $108,042 and Ether was down 6.8%.
Crypto is a widely diverse field, with thousands of coins available for investors to buy, with about 80 of them with a market value of more than $1 billion. Most of the tokens were in the red over the past day, according to CoinDesk.
If this is the end of a bull cycle for crypto, or simply a phase of consolidation before the next surge, is anyone's guess.
"At current levels, the rule of 'buy when everyone is afraid' may work, or there may be a switch to a more intense sell-off after three months of stagnation," noted FxPro's Alex Kuptsikevich.
Meanwhile, analysts at the blockchain payments company B2BINPAY foresee altcoins remaining under pressure with Bitcoin and the large-cap altcoins dominating, unless a clear rotation is triggered.
"Through end-2025 and into early 2026, the market may get into a regime where major coins retain dominance, liquidity, measured via stablecoin flows ( USDT), becomes a key indicator to look at, and macro factors (dollar strength, real yields, regulatory clarity) determine positioning, " they wrote.
While cryptos are typically seen as risk assets, smaller coins tend to suffer more when investors pile into safer assets such as bonds or certain stocks amid, for example, high interest rates or a worse economic climate.
In other crypto news, the architects of First Lady meme coin $MELANIA, the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange platform where the coin was initially traded, were accused of fraud, allegedly organizing the launch knowing the coin would plummet, court filings released Tuesday show, according to AFP.
The $MELANIA tokens were released on Jan. 19 for a few cents, and quickly jumped to more than $10. Now, the coin trades at about 0.1 cents, according to CoinDesk.
Meteora did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Melania Trump has not been accused of fraud.
Meme coins are speculative assets without an intrinsic value. President Donald Trump also launched the meme coin $ TRUMP around the same time as his wife.