Why is Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP rally losing steam?

Bitcoin (BTC) is back below $80,000 at the time of writing on Friday, after a second attempt at breaking resistance between $81,000 and $82,000. A daily close below $80,000 could raise the probability of an extended correction in search of liquidity.

Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) mirror Bitcoin’s cooling trend, with ETH sliding to $2,500 and XRP falling toward $1.40 support.

Despite the ongoing correction, institutional interest in digital risk assets remains high, suggesting a possible regime shift from a bearish to a broader bullish trend.

“BTC briefly traded above $81,000 before encountering resistance, but the market has shown little inclination to unwind the move,” Crypto Finance AG said in a Market Deep Dive, adding that “pullbacks have been contained, ETF inflows remain strong, and positioning suggests many investors are still catching up rather than taking risk off.”

ETF inflows boost recovery outlook

Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are on track for a second straight week of inflows, with $1.13 billion recorded through Thursday. Inflows remained steady last week, totaling $1.92 billion, the highest since October. Cumulative inflows have since risen to $55 billion, with net assets under management averaging $101 billion.

Continued inflows into US-listed spot ETFs underpin demand for Bitcoin and support the bullish outlook by absorbing potential selling pressure from profit-taking.

Ethereum spot ETFs paint a bullish picture, with inflows poised to print the second consecutive week. SoSoValue data shows inflows totaling $722 million through Thursday, up from $697 million the previous week.

US-listed XRP spot ETFs marked their eighth straight day of inflows, roughly $18 million on Thursday. This has pushed weekly inflows to $84 million through Thursday, increasing the odds of a breakout above the $100 million mark for the first time since early December. Cumulative inflows average $1.64 billion with net assets at $1.49 billion.

Technical analysis: Bitcoin retains a broad bullish outlook

Bitcoin trades at $79,828, extending its advance firmly above the key Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), suggesting a robust bullish structure with price supported by a rising trend.

Momentum remains strong, as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 80 stays in overbought territory, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains positive, suggesting upside pressure is still dominant despite stretched conditions.

On the downside, any corrective move is likely to find initial structural support toward the 200-day EMA at $72,595, with the 50-day and 100-dayday EMAs clustering around $68,700-$68,400 to provide a deeper demand zone if profit-taking accelerates. With no nearby resistance levels defined by the current indicator set on the daily chart, the pair would likely need a momentum cooldown, signaled by a retreat in the overbought RSI and a contracting MACD reading, to ease the risk of a sharp pullback from these elevated prices.

Altcoins technical outlook: Ethereum and XRP at risk of accelerating trend reversal

Ethereum trades around $2,500, extending a strong bullish phase after breaking well above the short and medium-term EMAs, suggesting a constructive underlying trend despite overbought daily RSI readings at 76. The MACD remains firmly positive, reinforcing upside momentum as the pair approaches psychological resistance at $2,600 and $2,800.

“The rally is broadening too,” Crypto Finance AG continued, adding that “ETH has outperformed BTC over the past month, altcoin participation has improved, and sector correlations are rising as capital moves further along the risk curve.”

On the downside, initial support is at the 50-day EMA around $2,061, with the 100-day EMA near $2,014 providing an additional cushion should a deeper pullback unfold. On the topside, the 200-day EMA at roughly $2,138 has already been decisively reclaimed, leaving the current pivot at $2,500 and the next key barrier at $2,600. A sustained break above this area would open the door to further gains, while failure to clear it could trigger consolidation or a corrective phase back toward the EMA supports.

As for XRP, the spot price holds well above the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day EMAs, keeping the near-term bias bullish as price rides a strong breakout phase. The MACD stands in positive territory, while the RSI hovers just below the overbought threshold around 70, suggesting robust but stretched upside momentum that could soon prompt consolidation rather than an immediate trend reversal.

On the downside, initial support lies at the 200-day EMA at 1.35, which reinforces the broader bullish structure, followed by secondary dynamic support from the 100-day EMA at $1.20 and the 50-day EMA at $1.19 in a deeper correction. As long as XRP holds above these moving averages, pullbacks are likely to be treated as corrective pauses within the prevailing uptrend, with traders monitoring momentum gauges for signs that the current overheated conditions are cooling before the next directional leg.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.Know more.)

Crypto ETF FAQs

An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment vehicle or an index that tracks the price of an underlying asset. ETFs can not only track a single asset, but a group of assets and sectors. For example, a Bitcoin ETF tracks Bitcoin’s price. ETF is a tool used by investors to gain exposure to a certain asset.

Yes. The first Bitcoin futures ETF in the US was approved by the US Securities & Exchange Commission in October 2021. A total of seven Bitcoin futures ETFs have been approved, with more than 20 still waiting for the regulator’s permission. The SEC says that the cryptocurrency industry is new and subject to manipulation, which is why it has been delaying crypto-related futures ETFs for the last few years.

Yes. The SEC approved in January 2024 the listing and trading of several Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Funds, opening the door to institutional capital and mainstream investors to trade the main crypto currency. The decision was hailed by the industry as a game changer.

The main advantage of crypto ETFs is the possibility of gaining exposure to a cryptocurrency without ownership, reducing the risk and cost of holding the asset. Other pros are a lower learning curve and higher security for investors since ETFs take charge of securing the underlying asset holdings. As for the main drawbacks, the main one is that as an investor you can’t have direct ownership of the asset, or, as they say in crypto, “not your keys, not your coins.” Other disadvantages are higher costs associated with holding crypto since ETFs charge fees for active management. Finally, even though investing in ETFs reduces the risk of holding an asset, price swings in the underlying cryptocurrency are likely to be reflected in the investment vehicle too.

John Isige is a seasoned cryptocurrency journalist and markets analyst committed to delivering high-quality, actionable insights tailored to traders, investors, and crypto enthusiasts.

He enjoys deep dives into emerging Web3 tren

Source: www.fxstreet.com