Community Trust ScoreVerified
Bitcoin broke below $61,000 on Friday, touching a four-month low. The drop wiped over $20,000 from its mid-May peak, and the broader crypto market cap shed $400 billion, falling to $1.2 trillion.
The slide didn’t come from one single event. It came from several bad things landing at once. Strategy — long one of the most vocal institutional Bitcoin bulls — disclosed it had sold a small portion of its Bitcoin holdings. That’s basically the last thing a jittery market needed to hear. The news hit sentiment hard, and sellers piled in fast. Since last Friday alone, Bitcoin dropped 15%. The $60,000 support level, which traders had been watching closely, started to crack. Market cap for the entire crypto sector now sits at $2.18 trillion. The 24-hour trading volume clocked in at $138 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance slipped to 55.7%.
Not everyone sold.
Strive went the other direction entirely, dropping $185 million to buy more Bitcoin and pushing its total holdings to nearly 19,000 BTC. Bold move when most of the market’s heading for the exits. It’s the kind of contrarian bet that either looks genius in six months or gets quietly forgotten. No details on exactly when Strive completed the purchase.
Zcash Craters 41%, Hayes Walks Away
Zcash had a rough week even by crypto standards. The privacy coin tumbled 41% after technical vulnerabilities surfaced. Arthur Hayes sold his entire Zcash position after that, citing uncertainty around the project. Hayes didn’t elaborate publicly on what specifically spooked him beyond the vulnerability news, but the exit was total — not a trim, not a hedge. Gone. Zcash’s problems feel separate from the broader Bitcoin selloff, but the timing made everything worse.
Cardano’s week wasn’t much better. ADA dropped over 30% after Charles Hoskinson announced a break from the project. Social media activity around Cardano spiked sharply, and network engagement jumped — which is a weird combination of bad price action and weirdly high community interest happening at the same time. Whether the engagement translates into anything useful for ADA’s price is unclear. Hoskinson’s departure, even framed as temporary, spooked holders badly.
Ethereum at 14-Month Low, XRP Slides Too
Ethereum fell to $1,600, a 14-month low. That’s a 17% decline, and it’s the kind of number that makes long-term holders uncomfortable. Some analysts are calling it a buying opportunity. Maybe. The dip-buying argument is pretty much the same one that’s been floated at every major correction for years, and it’s right often enough that it can’t be dismissed. But Ethereum’s drop isn’t happening in isolation — it’s mirroring the wider market pressure, and there’s no obvious catalyst sitting on the horizon to reverse it fast.
XRP also took a hit, falling 14% to trade at $1.11. The losses across the board aren’t subtle. Major assets, mid-caps, privacy coins — everything got clipped this week.
Peter Schiff added his voice to the noise. He issued a warning that Bitcoin could fall to $20,000 if it can’t hold the $50,000 support level. Schiff has been bearish on Bitcoin for years, so the warning won’t surprise anyone who follows him. But the $20,000 figure is striking enough to get attention, especially with Bitcoin already testing $60,000. The $50,000 level he’s watching is a long way down from where Bitcoin trades now, but $60,000 felt safe a few weeks ago too.
The divergence between Strategy and Strive is probably the most interesting subplot here. Strategy sells a slice, market panics. Strive buys $185 million worth, market barely notices. That asymmetry says something about how fragile sentiment is right now — bad news travels faster and hits harder than good news can absorb.
What the Numbers Actually Say
The total market cap at $2.18 trillion with $138 billion in daily volume means there’s still significant capital moving through the market. It’s not frozen. Bitcoin’s dominance at 55.7% is worth watching — when altcoins bleed harder than Bitcoin, that number tends to climb, and it does suggest traders are rotating toward the relative safety of Bitcoin even as Bitcoin itself falls.
Cardano’s network activity spike during a price crash is genuinely odd. Usually those two things move together. High engagement during a selloff can sometimes mean accumulation is happening quietly underneath the noise. Or it can just mean people are panicking loudly on social media. Probably both.
Ethereum at $1,600 with a 17% weekly drop. XRP at $1.11 after a 14% fall. ADA down 30%-plus. Bitcoin sitting just above $61,000 and struggling to hold. The market cap of the entire sector down $400 billion in a week.
Hub: XRP price, news, and analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Bitcoin drop below $61,000?
Bitcoin fell below $61,000 after Strategy disclosed the sale of a portion of its Bitcoin holdings, which worsened already bearish sentiment and triggered a 15% weekly decline.
What caused Zcash to fall 41%?
Zcash dropped 41% after technical vulnerabilities were revealed, prompting Arthur Hayes to sell his entire position in the project, citing uncertainty about its future.
What did Peter Schiff predict about Bitcoin?
Peter Schiff warned that Bitcoin could fall to $20,000 if it fails to hold the $50,000 support level, adding to concerns about the market’s stability.
