Bitcoin stagnates, Ethereum eyes recovery; altcoins show mixed moves

Cryptocurrency markets remained volatile, with Bitcoin stabilising around $68,400 after failing to sustain the $70,000 mark. The flagship token briefly slipped below $68,000 before recovering to $68,500, maintaining a sideways range between $65,000 and $70,000 over the past ten days.

 

The digital asset continues to trade below its 50- and 100-day moving averages, which, according to CoinSwitch Markets Desk, signals soft momentum. Meanwhile, the Fear & Greed Index inched up to 13 from 8 last week, reflecting persistent trader caution.

 

On-chain data, however, points to ongoing accumulation across major assets, hinting at a potential short squeeze. Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, said demand remains steady, with Ether accumulation addresses adding over 2.5 million ETH in February, while Bitcoin accumulators hold more than 372,000 BTC.

 

 

Bitcoin briefly touched $70,067 but failed to hold gains. At last check, BTC was trading around $68,383, up marginally 0.02 per cent with a 24-hour trading volume of $33.61 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. During the same period, BTC oscillated between $67,301 and $70,067.  The asset remains more than 45 per cent below its all-time high of $126,198 set on October 7, 2025, with market capitalisation slipping below $2 trillion to $1.36 trillion, retaining its position as the largest cryptocurrency by market value.

 

From a technical standpoint, Siddhant noted, “A strong push and close above $75,000 could trigger bullish momentum and attract fresh inflows, while $65,000 continues to act as a solid base.”

 

CoinSwitch Markets Desk highlighted liquidation activity around $69,500–$70,000, suggesting this zone could act as a magnet if buying pressure builds. “On the downside, support liquidity remains around $66,000–$67,000, likely cushioning the market against heightened volatility,” the desk said. 

Ethereum attempts recovery amid bearish pressure

Ethereum, meanwhile, is attempting a recovery, trading higher by 0.88 per cent at $1,981 on CoinMarketCap. The token fluctuated between $1,938 and $2,021 in the past 24 hours, with a trading volume of $19.26 billion.

 

Despite marginal gains, Harish Vatnani, head of trade at ZebPay, said ETH continues to trade in a bearish structure on the daily chart. The breakdown below the critical $2,200 support level confirmed ongoing weakness, with no clear bullish reversal signals, such as higher highs or sustained moves above resistance.

 

In recent sessions, ETH has moved sideways following the sharp decline, forming a consolidation pattern just below the former support, now acting as resistance. A symmetrical triangle is forming on the daily chart.

 

“For any bullish continuation, ETH must first break out above the triangle resistance and reclaim $2,200 with strong daily closes and rising volume. Without this, upside moves are likely to remain short-term relief rallies within a broader bearish trend,” said Vatnani.  He further added that a break below triangle support on strong selling volume could trigger the next downtrend, bringing lower support zones into focus and increasing volatility. 

Altcoins show mixed sentiment

The altcoin segment displayed a mixed performance. Top gainers on CoinMarketCap included MemeCore (M), Cosmos (ATOM), Nexo (NEXO), Monero (XMR), Pi (PI), Story (IP), Jupiter (JUP), Cardano (ADA), Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), GateToken (GT), Zcash (ZEC), Dash (DASH), Litecoin (LTC), Midnight (NIGHT), KuCoin Token (KCS), BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), JUST (JST), Mantle (MNT), TRON (TRX), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Chainlink (LINK), Kite (KITE), Lighter (LIT), PancakeSwap (CAKE), Polkadot (DOT), Ethena (ENA), Sui (SUI), Aster (ASTER), and Canton (CC), rallying up to 12 per cent.

 

Conversely, MYX Finance (MYX), Humanity Protocol (H), Pippin (PIPPIN), OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP), Bittensor (TAO), Dogecoin (DOGE), Morpho (MORPHO), Tether Gold (XAUt), PAX Gold (PAXG), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), Algorand (ALGO), Worldcoin (WLD), Stacks (STX), VeChain (VET), LayerZero (ZRO), Quant (QNT), Bonk (BONK), Tezos (XTZ), World Liberty Financial (WLFI), Aave (AAVE), Avalanche (AVAX), Stellar (XLM), Cronos (CRO), Flare (FLR), Pump.fun (PUMP), Toncoin (TON), and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) came under pressure, declining as much as 15 per cent.