Dogecoin, Solana lead crypto majors plunge as Bitcoin falls below $66k

Major tokens slid in Asia trading hours Tuesday amid continual profit-taking and another day of net outflows from U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Monday, pressuring bullish sentiment.

Bitcoin (BTC) slid to nearly $66,500, reversing all its Monday gains, while ether (ETH) fell to $3,400, reversing all of last week’s gains. BTC has been hovering around the 50-day moving average at $66,000, testing the medium-term uptrend. Meanwhile, BTC ETFs recorded net outflows of $145 million, continuing last week's dismal run.

Major tokens Dogecoin (DOGE) and Solana’s SOL lost as much as 9% in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows, to lead losses. Ton Network’s TON fell 5%, while BNB Chain’s BNB outperformed with losses of just 1.5%.

The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index of the largest tokens, minus stablecoins, is down 4.2%.

Last week, BTC dipped below the $65,000 mark for the first time in a month as net outflows from ETFs crossed the $500 million mark and the Federal Reserve signaled just one interest rate cut in 2024.

“Other factors haven’t helped,” shared Neil Roarty, analyst at investment platform Stocklytics, in an email to CoinDesk. “The political uncertainty triggered by Emmanuel Macron's surprise decision to call a snap election in France further strengthened the dollar as traders exited the euro.”

“A strong dollar tends to put downward pressure on Bitcoin,” he said, adding that it would take considerably lower interest rates and a weaker dollar to push BTC closer to the $70,000 mark.

Elsewhere, FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich warned of generally bearish sentiment as favorable ether ETF developments did little to buoy ETH prices.

“Ethereum, on optimistic expectations about the ETF, was able to add over 6% after briefly dipping under its 50-day MA on Friday. However, a loss of nearly 1.5% since the start of the day on Monday makes one wary of the near-term performance of altcoins,” he said in a Tuesday email.”

“The increased liquidity on weekdays will likely play into the hands of bears rather than bulls by increasing selling interest,” Kuptsikevich ended.