BTC and ETH fell again on Friday amid global tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Cryptocurrency markets fell again on Friday, extending their losing streak to a fourth day as investors grappled with rising geopolitical tensions, trade uncertainty and the ongoing US government shutdown.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading 2% lower on the day at $106,400, while Ethereum (ETH) is trading around $3,830, down 3.2% in the same time frame.
John Glover, chief investment officer at Reddon and former MD at Barclays, said he believes the current Bitcoin bull market is over.
“We believe the five-wave rally is over and we are in for a bear market that will last until at least the second half of 2026,” Glover said. “That’s not to say you can’t try again for $124,000 or a little more, but my view is that prices will be lower in the coming months than they are now.”
He added that he expects Bitcoin’s trading price could drop to around $70,000 to $80,000, or even lower, in a bear market. “The bear market objective will become clearer as we continue to monitor price trends over the next few months,” Glover said.
Decrease in virtual currency market capitalization
Other top 10 coins also fell sharply, with BNB down 7% to $1,074, Solana (SOL) down 3% to $183, and XRP down 2.8% to $2.29.
Among the small-cap tokens, the biggest decliner on the day was AAVE, which fell nearly 13% to $203. ASTER, down 12% to $1.13. Flair (FLR) fell 8.5% to $0.06.
Etena (ENA) was the biggest gainer of the day, jumping 9% to $0.43, according to CoinGecko.
The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies decreased by 1.5% to $3.7 trillion, with Bitcoin’s dominance at 57.4% and Ethereum’s share at 12.4%.
Clearing and market flow
Approximately $972 million in crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass. Longs accounted for approximately $682 million and shorts accounted for $286 million.
Bitcoin led the way in liquidations with approximately $345 million, followed by Ethereum with approximately $231 million. Altcoins contributed approximately $85 million in total.
The Spot Bitcoin ETF recorded $536 million in outflows on Thursday, bringing total withdrawals to around $637 million for the second day in a row. There were also outflows from Spot Ethereum ETFs, totaling nearly $57 million, according to SosoValue.
Geopolitical and macro uncertainties
Economic and global tensions are taking a toll on the already volatile crypto market, prompting traders to rethink the risks of digital assets, and sustained market weakness highlights a cautious environment.
Today, President Donald Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss providing Kiev with the means to strike deep into Russia, including the possibility of replacing Ukrainian drones with long-range missiles.
Trump also said he hopes to coordinate with President Zelensky to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war at a planned meeting in Hungary, CNN reported.
The nation remains in a government shutdown, with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate deadlocked over funding and health care, with no agreement in sight.
The only possible relief comes from the Federal Reserve, which meets later this month. Most investors expect a rate cut, with CME Group data showing a 96% chance of a 25 basis point cut.
“The current market reaction is a mix of panic selling, stop triggering, and selective inbound bidding as buyers look for the bottom,” said David Seamer, CEO of Wave Digital Assets. “While we are probably not seeing a complete systemic ‘crash,’ we are entering an environment where a break below a major support level (e.g. around $100,000 in the case of Bitcoin) could lead to further declines.”