Crypto mayhem continues as Bitcoin tests $60k, Ethereum falls below $1,800

Crypto Market Crash: The sell-off in the crypto markets intensified on Friday, with the flagship token Bitcoin plunging to $60,074, its lowest level since October 2024. The downturn was equally pronounced across the altcoin space, with Ethereum (ETH) slipping below the $1,800 mark, while XRP, Solana (SOL) and BNB fell more than 13 per cent.

 

Notably, crypto markets have remained under pressure since October last year, after Bitcoin scaled its peak and has since been on a declining trajectory.  At present, Bitcoin faces near-term pressure amid soft US jobs data, AI-sector concerns, and increased selling, but long-term investors may see opportunity.  

 

“The recent pullback was largely driven by weaker-than-expected US labor data and mounting worries over heavy capital spending in the AI sector, which have weighed on broader risk sentiment,” said Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex. “On top of that, continued ETF outflows and short-term holders moving nearly 60,000 BTC to exchanges have added further near-term selling pressure.”   Despite the turbulence, Siddhant believes long-term investors can view the current phase as a buying opportunity. He recommends a disciplined, staggered accumulation strategy, noting that $55,500 remains a critical support level for Bitcoin, while $70,000 serves as immediate resistance.

Tech woes shake global markets 

The weakness in digital assets mirrors the broader sell-off in global equity markets. Wall Street’s major indices fell sharply overnight as heavyweight technology stocks came under pressure. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid to its lowest level since November, dragged down by declines in Microsoft, Amazon and other mega-cap stocks. Sentiment weakened further after Alphabet signalled it could double capital expenditure on artificial intelligence amid intensifying competition. The S&P 500 fell 1.23 per cent, the Nasdaq declined 1.59 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.20 per cent.

 

In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea’s Kospi fell as much as 5 per cent in early trade on Friday before paring losses to trade 3.86 per cent lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.22 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.61 per cent.

Bitcoin, Ethereum extend losses

Bitcoin, which fell to $60,074, has since bounced off those levels but continues to trade lower. At last check, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at $64,693, down 10 per cent, with a 24-hour trading volume of $19.98 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has swung in a wide range of $60,074 to $72,678.

 

The digital asset is now more than 48 per cent below its all-time high of $126,198, recorded on October 7, 2025, CoinMarketCap data showed. Bitcoin’s total market capitalisation stood at $1.29 trillion, the largest among cryptocurrencies.  Earlier, contracts on Polymarket, a decentralised prediction platform popular among crypto-native speculators, showed an 82 per cent probability that Bitcoin would fall to $65,000 this year, according to a Bloomberg report. The report added that some traders were betting on deeper losses. The odds of Bitcoin finishing below $55,000 have risen to around 60 per cent, while the probability of a rebound to $100,000 has fallen to 54 per cent from 80 per cent at the start of the year.   From a technical standpoint, Bitcoin faces short-term resistance near $71,000–$72,000, with strong support between $58,000 and $62,000, said Riya Sehgal, research analyst at Delta Exchange.  “If Bitcoin stabilises above this range, a consolidation phase may emerge before a broader recovery,” she added. 

 

Ethereum mirrored Bitcoin’s trend. At last check, ETH was trading at $1,910.82, down 9.65 per cent, with a 24-hour trading volume of $70.51 billion. The token moved between $1,748 and $2,157 during the same period, according to CoinMarketCap.  Ethereum’s market capitalisation stood at $231.04 billion, more than 60 per cent below its peak of $4,953, scaled on August 25, 2025.

Altcoins under pressure

Altcoins were also under pressure on Friday. UNUS SED LEO (LEO), Monero (XMR), Optimism (OP), OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP), Jupiter (JUP), Zcash (ZEC), Sui (SUI), NEAR Protocol (NEAR), Aave (AAVE), World Liberty Financial (WLFI), Bonk (BONK), Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), Uniswap (UNI), Filecoin (FIL), Aptos (APT), Mantle (MNT), Pepe (PEPE), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), Ondo (ONDO), Ethena (ENA), LayerZero (ZRO), Worldcoin (WLD), Arbitrum (ARB), Curve DAO Token (CRV), Dash (DASH), Render (RENDER), and Litecoin (LTC) were among the top laggards, posting losses of up to 23 per cent.

 

A select few tokens, however, bucked the trend. MYX Finance (MYX), Decred (DCR), Hyperliquid (HYPE), MemeCore (M), and AINFT (NFT) were trading in the green, with gains of up to 10 per cent.