XRP and Ether Lead Crypto Losses as Bitcoin Struggles to Hold $65K, Analysts Eye $70K

Bitcoin slipped to near $64,000 on Tuesday, down over 1% on the day but still up marginally on the week, after a fourth failed attempt to hold above $65,000. It reached a 24-hour high just above $65,300 before sliding through the Asian afternoon.

Ether was the weakest major, down over 2% to $1,878, though it remains slightly higher over seven days. XRP fell almost 2% to $1.01 and is down almost 6% on the week, the worst of the group by some distance. Solana eased under 1% to $76 but leads the week at 3%. BNB slipped to $600 and holds a 2% weekly gain.

Three majors went the other way. Hyperliquid's HYPE rose almost 2% to $55, tron gained slightly to 33 cents and dogecoin was marginally higher at 7 cents.

Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said bitcoin has been testing $65,000 for four straight days without any surge in buying as it approaches the round number.

More telling is the absence of selling into it, which he read as "a build-up of short positions well above this level" rather than holders taking profit.

That makes $70,000 the next area to watch, another round number with the 200-day moving average sitting nearby. Clearing it would put bitcoin above the range where buyers and sellers fought through March and April, a move Kuptsikevich said would shift sentiment meaningfully.

Traders are not there yet. The crypto sentiment index sits at 30, in what is known as the fear zone, and has stayed there since mid-July with occasional dips toward extreme fear.

Bonds and oil set the tone in broader markets. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose six basis points on Monday to 4.71%, dragging Australian and New Zealand government bonds down with them, with no cash Treasury trading during Asian hours because of a public holiday in Japan.

Brent crude held at $87.73 a barrel after jumping 5% on Monday, when President Donald Trump made fresh demands on Iran and dimmed hopes of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Gold rose for a third session above $4,400 an ounce.

Higher oil feeds into the inflation figures due Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is why the rally is weighing on assets that do better when rate rises look less likely.

Fund flows had been running the other way until this week. U.S. spot bitcoin funds took in $865 million across five sessions through Aug. 7, before a provisional outflow of $91 million on Monday.