The cryptocurrency market took a sharp turn downward over the weekend, wiping out the optimism sparked just days earlier by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on interest rates.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital asset, dropped 2.8% in the past 24 hours to $111,382, according to CoinDesk data. Ether fell 2.9%, and XRP lost 2.6%—all steeper declines than the broader stock market, where the S&P 500 slipped just 0.2%. Analysts say Friday’s rally, triggered by Powell’s hints at a possible rate cut during the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, may have enticed new sellers to enter the market. FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich noted that Bitcoin’s retreat pushed it below its 50-day moving average, a sign of weakening momentum.
While Powell’s signal of lower borrowing costs initially buoyed both stocks and digital assets—since risk assets typically thrive when yields fall—the mood shifted quickly. Reports suggest that a so-called Bitcoin whale, an investor holding massive quantities of the token, began offloading coins on Sunday. The sell-off sparked a flash crash, sending ripple effects across the crypto landscape.
The turbulence wasn’t limited to tokens. Publicly traded crypto companies also took a hit on Monday morning. MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin (now operating under the name Bitcoin Strategy), fell 4.4%. Meanwhile, Coinbase Global, one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges, dropped 3.5%.
For investors, the episode is a reminder of how fragile crypto rallies can be—and how quickly large trades or shifting sentiment can turn optimism into a downturn.