XRP and Ethereum Lead Losses as Bitcoin Fails to Break $65,000 for the Fourth Time
N.R. Finch
Bitcoin retreated to about $64,000 after failing to break $65,000 for the fourth straight session; Ether and XRP each fell more than 2% to lead losses among major tokens, with the crypto sentiment index sitting at 30 — deep in fear territory — as Wednesday's CPI print looms as the catalyst to break the stalemate.
Why can't Bitcoin clear $65,000?
The price touched above $65,300 intraday before sliding back to roughly $64,000 during the Asian afternoon session — a drop of more than 1% on the day.
FxPro chief analyst Alex Kuptsikevich noted that Bitcoin has tested $65,000 for four consecutive days, yet no meaningful buying volume has materialized.
What he finds more telling: there is no obvious selling pressure near that level either. This means → the resistance is not profit-taking by holders but a buildup of short positions above $65,000, capping the breakout.
Which tokens fell hardest — and which held up?
Ether dropped more than 2% to $1,878, the steepest decline among major tokens. XRP fell nearly 2% to $1.01, with a weekly loss approaching 6% — the weakest performer.
Solana dipped less than 1% to $76 on the day but leads peers with a 3% weekly gain. BNB slipped to $600, still up about 2% for the week.
Three tokens bucked the trend: Hyperliquid's HYPE rose nearly 2% to $55, Tron edged up to $0.33, and Dogecoin ticked higher to $0.07.
If $65,000 breaks, what is the next level to watch?
Kuptsikevich identifies $70,000 as the next key zone — that round number coincides with the 200-day moving average (the average closing price over the past 200 trading days, a widely used gauge of long-term trend direction).
A clean break would take Bitcoin out of the March-to-April range where bulls and bears have been deadlocked. This means → the market could shift from "repeated probing" to "trend confirmation," delivering a material boost to sentiment.
How bad is market sentiment right now?
The crypto fear-and-greed index reads 30, firmly inside "fear" territory. It has hovered in this zone since mid-July, occasionally dipping into "extreme fear."
In plain terms = the market is neither panic-selling nor recovering confidence — it is stuck in a standoff where participants are too cautious to buy and too reluctant to sell.
Is the macro backdrop helping or hurting?
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose 6 basis points Monday to 4.71%, dragging Australian and New Zealand government bonds lower — rising bond yields increase pressure on capital to rotate out of risk assets toward "safe havens."
Brent crude held at $87.73 a barrel after surging 5% the prior session on fresh Trump demands toward Iran and dimming prospects for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Gold held above $4,400 an ounce for a third straight day.
Higher oil prices feed directly into inflation expectations — a core reason risk assets are under pressure. This means → if Wednesday's CPI reading comes in above forecast, Bitcoin's task of clearing $65,000 gets even harder.
Is money flowing in or flowing out?
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a combined net inflow of $865 million over the five trading days through August 7, but Monday saw a preliminary net outflow of about $91 million.
In plain terms = medium-term money is still buying in, but short-term conviction is fraying — whether the CPI print can break the current deadlock is the single most important test for the market in the near term.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.