Bitcoin Drops 2% as Altcoins Slide; ETF Unwinding and Economic Uncertainty Weigh on Markets
Bitcoin (BTC) fell 2% on Monday, continuing last week’s downward trend as major altcoins like Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by up to 5%, according to CoinDesk Indices data.
BTC attempted to break above $84,000 resistance on Sunday, but the momentum faded, leaving it trading near $83,300 by Monday afternoon in Asia.
Altcoins Take a Hit, BNB Defies the Trend
Most major tokens tracked Bitcoin’s weakness, with altcoins seeing heavier losses. However, BNB Chain (BNB) bucked the trend, posting a 3% gain while the rest of the market struggled.
ETF Positioning and Macro Pressures Fuel Selling
Market analysts suggest that ETF-driven trading and macroeconomic uncertainty have contributed to recent selling pressure.
“It looks like an unwinding of ETF and futures-linked trades is driving this move,” said Augustine Fan, Head of Insights at SignalPlus, in a message to CoinDesk.
One widely used hedge fund strategy, the basis trade, involves buying spot BTC (often via ETFs) while shorting BTC futures to exploit price spreads. When these spreads tighten, funds liquidate their positions, triggering additional market selling.
Meanwhile, concerns over U.S. tariffs and economic instability have kept traders cautious, as crypto markets remain closely correlated with traditional equities.
Altcoin Volatility Presents Trading Opportunities
Despite the overall market decline, some traders believe altcoins and memecoins could see increased volatility and trading opportunities.
“We’re seeing more focus on altcoins since Trump’s World Liberty Financial acquired MNT and AVAX,” said Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research. “With AVAX being included in VanEck’s ETF application, it may be drawing interest from investors looking beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
Even with the current market weakness, many traders maintain a ‘buy the dip’ mindset, expecting short-term volatility to give way to renewed upside momentum.
