Bitcoin drops $6K in 48 hours as altcoins follow lower

Bitcoin (BTC) moved lower this week after another failed attempt to break above $72,000. The decline pulled the wider crypto market down, while a few smaller tokens moved against the broader trend.

Bitcoin started the week under pressure after it failed to clear higher resistance levels. The asset had already lost momentum near $76,000 in the previous week and then traded around $70,000 over the weekend before falling to $67,500 on Monday as traditional markets reopened.

Later that day, Bitcoin rose close to $72,000 after US President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran had reached a de-escalation deal. That move did not last. Iran rejected the statement, and Bitcoin quickly fell back toward $69,000.

Bitcoin returned to the $72,000 area on Wednesday, which marked its weekly high. Sellers then regained control and pushed the asset back to $69,000 by Friday. The decline continued into the weekend, sending Bitcoin to $65,500 on some exchanges, its lowest level since early March.

The move left Bitcoin down by more than $6,000 in 48 hours. At the time of reporting, the asset had recovered slightly and traded above $66,000, but it still showed a weekly loss of around 6%. Its market capitalization dropped to about $1.325 trillion, while its market share slipped below 56%.

Large-cap altcoins track Bitcoin lower

Most large-cap altcoins also moved down during the same period. Ethereum fell below the $2,000 mark, Binance Coin traded just above $610, and XRP remained below $1.35 after testing resistance near $1.30 earlier in the week.

The weakness in major tokens added pressure to the overall market. Total crypto market value fell by about $60 billion from Friday’s peak and stood near $2.37 trillion, showing that risk appetite remained weak across the sector.

However,  SIREN was one of the few tokens to post a sharp gain during the latest market drop. The AI-linked token rose more than 100% in 24 hours and traded above $1.60 at press time. Even so, it remained over 50% below its recent all-time high of $3.60 reached earlier this week.

Other altcoins showed a mixed picture. AAVE fell by 5%, while HASH lost 9% on the day. Bitcoin Cash and CC posted gains of more than 3%, making them rare movers higher as most of the market stayed under pressure.