Bitcoin Rejected at $90K, Altcoins Bleed as HYPE Plunges 10%

Bitcoin’s price action this week has been a textbook example of extreme volatility and failed breakouts. Despite a supportive macro backdrop from the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut key interest rates by another 25 basis points, BTC has struggled for direction. The initial reaction saw the price spike to $94,500 around the announcement, but this optimism was short-lived. A swift rejection pushed the premier cryptocurrency down to $89,500 within a day, setting a pattern of weakness that would define the week.

The weekend provided little relief, with BTC trading sideways around $90,000 aside from a brief deviation. The real selling pressure arrived on Monday, as the asset dumped nearly $5,000 in just over an hour to touch $85,500. A feeble recovery attempt was halted at $88,000, setting the stage for Wednesday’s dramatic pump-and-dump. In what analysts described as a classic bull trap, BTC surged several thousand dollars to just over $90,000 before being violently rejected and driven south to under $85,500 once more. As of the latest data, Bitcoin has bounced to approximately $87,300, with its market cap struggling below $1.750 trillion.

The pain was not confined to Bitcoin. As evidenced by Bitcoin’s growing market dominance—which shot up 0.7% daily to 57.6%—most larger-cap altcoins posted notable losses over the past 24 hours. This rising dominance metric typically indicates capital is flowing out of riskier altcoins and into Bitcoin, perceived as a relative safe haven during market turbulence. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, declined by 2% to trade at $2,850. XRP lost a key support level, slipping beneath $1.90.

The sell-off was broad-based. Major altcoins including BNB, SOL, DOGE, ADA, and LINK registered daily drops of up to 3.5%. However, the most severe corrections were seen in smaller-cap tokens. Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, continued its massive descent, plunging almost 10% in value in the past 24 hours alone. This adds to a devastating monthly performance, with HYPE down over 40% and now struggling to hold above $25. Even steeper daily losses were recorded by LEO, down 28%, and PUMP, down 12%. The few outliers bucking the negative trend included NIGHT and CC, which managed daily gains of around 7-8%.

The aggregate cryptocurrency market cap has become a critical battleground. Despite the intense selling pressure that briefly pushed it below the psychologically important $3 trillion mark, the total valuation has managed to defend this level—for now. This defense highlights the fragile equilibrium in the market, where bullish macro catalysts like interest rate cuts are being overshadowed by intense technical selling and profit-taking.

The current landscape presents a clear narrative: Bitcoin’s inability to sustain momentum above $90,000 is acting as an anchor on the entire digital asset ecosystem. The Federal Reserve’s dovish pivot, which in other cycles might have ignited a sustained rally, has so far failed to provide lasting support. Instead, the market is reacting with high volatility, sharp rejections at resistance levels, and a clear rotation into Bitcoin at the expense of altcoins. The severe correction in tokens like HYPE serves as a stark warning of the risks present in the altcoin space when market sentiment sours and liquidity contracts.