Volatility continued for another week in the crypto market as President Trump’s trade war continues to cause investor concern, while the much-hyped crypto summit at the White House largely turned into a sell-the-news type event.
Optimism was running high at the end of last week after President Trump signed an executive order to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a ‘digital asset stockpile.’ However, the order laid out plans to use assets seized by the government to fill the crypto coffers, meaning that no new government funds would be injected into the market.
This, combined with an uneventful first-ever White House crypto summit, deflated any building bullish momentum, while greater macroeconomic concerns and developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict took a toll on all financial markets.
After Bitcoin hit a high near $93,000 last Thursday, bears took control of the price action, and bulls were unable to mount a solid defense until Tuesday after Bitcoin hit a low near $76,600.
BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView
At the time of writing, BTC/USD trades at $83,140, an increase of 4.95% on the 24-hour chart, but a decline of 5.35% on the 7-day chart.
Rough Ride for Number Two
While the broader crypto market has had a rough ride, Bitcoin has held up well compared to most tokens, including Ethereum (ETH), the second-ranked crypto by market capitalization.
Data provided by TradingView shows that Ether is now trading below $2,000 and has fallen nearly 53% from its December high of $4,113.
ETH/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView
Much of Ether’s struggles have hinged upon broader macroeconomic concerns, with the uncertainty around US import tariffs and trade war concerns weighing down its price. According to analysts at Bitfinex, a lack of development on the Ethereum network has also given investors reason to pause further allocations.
“A lack of new projects or builders moving to ETH, primarily due to high operating fees, is likely the principal reason behind the lackluster performance of ETH,” the analysts said. “We believe that for ETH, $1,800 will be a strong level to watch. However, the current sell-off is not being seen solely in ETH, we have seen a market-wide correction as fears over the impact of tariffs hit all risk assets.”
The exchange-traded fund (ETF) market provides further evidence of the weakening demand for exposure to Ether. Data provided by Farside Investors shows that in the month of March, more than $131 million has flowed out of ETH ETFs, exerting downward pressure on its price.
Ether ETF flows. Source: Farside Investors
As the table above shows, there has only been one day of positive flows into Ether ETFs since February 20.
These factors combined have led many crypto analysts to take a bearish outlook, while others insist this is a prime buying opportunity.
$ETH is either going to zero or giving us once in a lifetime opportunity to make a generational wealth. There’s nothing in between..
— CoinMamba (@coinmamba) March 11, 2025
For those in the bullish camp, the consensus is that Ether could fall to the lower end of its support range around $1,800 before bouncing back and surging to a new all-time high.
$ETH idea pic.twitter.com/zSI9wI5xLt
— il Capo Of Crypto (@CryptoCapo_) February 25, 2025
Legendary trader Peter Brandt is in the bearish camp, posting the following tweet on X reaffirming his negative outlook on the asset.
The trolls have criticized me for years re: my opinion that $ETH is nothing but ?????????????????? pic.twitter.com/qP0HV9YWIV
— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) March 3, 2025
MN Consultancy founder Michaël van de Poppe tried to help people understand that the past doesn’t always predict the future, but Ether and altcoins have had a nice run to this point.
History hasn’t been great for $ETH & #Altcoins.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) March 11, 2025
This doesn’t mean that the coming years need to be identical.
Technical analyst Gert van Lagen provided a more long-term, macro perspective, noting that the weekly chart for ETH shows an inverse head and shoulders pattern that hints at a possible run toward $20,000, depending on how the rest of this cycle plays out.
$ETH [1W] - Huge 4-year inverse Head and Shoulder in play, with now two shoulders of equal depth, targeting ~$20k.
— Gert van Lagen (@GertvanLagen) March 10, 2025
Loads of retail getting shaken out here. pic.twitter.com/UFwCpaSJY1
Conclusion
It remains to be seen how things play out, but for now, Ether and the broader altcoin market are struggling to tread water. The real concern now is that if things don’t improve on the economic front, the next crypto winter could set in before the highly sought after ‘altcoin season’ truly manifests.