Cryptocurrency prices fell across major currencies on Thursday, with Ether, XRP and Solana leading the declines as traders struggled to extend this week’s brief stabilization.
Bitcoin traded near $66,700, down about 1.7% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk market data. Ether slipped a similar amount to around $1,965, while XRP fell almost 5% and Solana almost 4%. BNB and Dogecoin were also in the red, reflecting widespread weakness rather than token-specific movements.
The decline came even as Asian stocks rose in year-end trading. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose about 0.5%, Japan’s Nikkei gained about 0.85% and South Korea’s Kospi jumped about 3% to a record high.
The move follows a rebound in U.S. tech stocks after Nvidia signed a multi-year deal to supply AI chips to meta-platforms.
Crypto did not participate in this optimism. Instead, price action remains heavy. Recent rebounds have been accompanied by steady selling, with gains fading as soon as momentum fades.
Unlike earlier in the quarter, the market no longer collapses with each decline, but it also fails to attract sustained spot demand that could change the tone.
The dollar strengthened after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed policymakers were in no rush to cut rates. Some officials have even raised the possibility of a rate hike if inflation remains persistent.
A stronger dollar typically tightens global liquidity and weighs on risk assets, and crypto’s pullback has followed this trend.
Gold is doing what it does best, absorbing uncertainty with quiet strength even as risk assets collapse, and this contrast sharpens the debate over whether bitcoin can still claim “digital gold” status.
Alex Tsepaev, chief strategy officer of B2PRIME Group, said in an email to CoinDesk that the metal’s resilience reflects the fact that investors are looking for the simplest hedge in a market that is still nervous in terms of geopolitics, politics and the Fed.
“I think gold will continue to be a safe haven by default and will likely attempt to break through the $5,000-$5,100 hard cap. That said, once risk appetite returns, ETF flows stabilize, and U.S. regulations stop dragging on, Bitcoin could recover much more quickly,” he said.
“After all, Bitcoin attracts liquidity faster than gold, in part because it is still sometimes characterized as a speculative asset.”
Oil prices maintained recent gains amid ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran, keeping geopolitical risk in the background. In this context, cryptocurrencies remain stuck between periodic relief recoveries and a macroeconomic environment that is not yet favorable enough to transform them into something more sustainable.
