ETH, SOL, XRP extend losses as AI scare trade unsettles risk markets

• Major cryptocurrencies have fallen 8-11% over the past week, with bitcoin stuck in a grinding decline around $62,900 and confined to a $60,000-to-$70,000 trading range.
• Altcoins are underperforming bitcoin as sell-side pressure hits five-year highs, leading to a slow, grinding downturn that lacks the sharp liquidation events that typically attract dip buyers.
• A broader risk-off shift tied to an emerging "AI scare trade" in equities is weighing on crypto markets, and analysts warn that bitcoin's prolonged failure to break above its current range is tilting the technical outlook toward the bears.

Macro jitters from an emerging AI disruption trade are compounding crypto-native weakness, with majors posting 8-11% weekly losses across the board.

Bitcoin slid to around $62,900 on Tuesday, down 2.1% on the day and 7.5% on the week, extending a grinding move lower that has so far refused to produce either a clean breakdown or a strong bounce.

The price action has pinned the market inside the $60,000-to-$70,000 band that formed after the Feb. 5 flush — a range that is starting to feel less like a base and more like a holding pattern waiting for a catalyst.

Altcoins are faring worse. Ethereum traded near $1,829, down 8% on the week. XRP fell 10.8%, Solana's SOL shed 11.3%, and dogecoin dropped nearly 10%. The underperformance across majors reflects a market where risk appetite is shrinking toward bitcoin and even that bid is thinning.

CryptoQuant flagged sell-side pressure among altcoins at five-year highs, suggesting holders are actively distributing into a market where buyers remain scarce outside of the largest cap.

That kind of structural selling tends to grind prices lower without the dramatic liquidation candles that attract dip buyers, making it a slower bleed that is harder for momentum traders to position around.

FxPro chief market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email bitcoin's recent attempt at recovery is shaping up as consolidation rather than reversal. He pointed to a bearish pennant forming on the daily chart, noting that a move below the mid-$65,000 area would confirm downside continuation while a break above $70,000 would invalidate the pattern.

More broadly, he described the $60,000-to-$70,000 range as historically significant — a zone that acted as the ceiling for the entire 2021 cycle and now appears to be serving as a battlefield between long-term accumulators and newer holders cutting losses.

AI fears return

Adding to the pressure is a macro dynamic that has nothing to do with crypto directly but is draining the same pool of risk capital.

A Citrini Research report flagged an emerging "AI scare trade" this week, warning of widespread economic disruption from artificial intelligence across delivery, payments, and software sectors. The note triggered selling in tech-adjacent equities as investors reassessed which companies benefit from AI adoption and which face displacement risk.

That kind of broad risk recalibration tends to hit crypto on a lag. Digital assets don't always sell off in lockstep with equities, but they are sensitive to the same shifts in liquidity and positioning that drive risk-off moves — and right now, the mood in both markets is pointing the same direction.

Bitcoin is now 48% below its October all-time high and sitting 5.5% below its 2021 peak of $69,000. The longer it trades in this range without reclaiming higher ground, the more the technical picture tilts toward the bears.

• Crypto derivatives such as ETF-linked options and futures could rival or exceed spot trading volumes on major global exchanges.
• As derivatives activity scales on regulated venues, volatility pricing in U.S. markets may play a larger role in setting bitcoin’s global price.
• The shift would further consolidate price discovery within regulated futures markets, extending their influence over the broader crypto ecosystem.

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