Bitcoin held above the $64,000 level over the past 12 hours, trading at $64,103 with a 24-hour gain of 0.33%. Its intraday range was $63,656 to $64,693. Ether outperformed the broader market, rising 1.35% to $1,793 and briefly touching $1,812. Among other large-cap tokens, Solana slipped to $77.68, down 1.66%, while XRP was nearly flat at $1.11, off 0.07%.
Ether outpaces Bitcoin while large caps split
Price action across majors was mixed. Bitcoin stayed firm around the $64,000 mark, but Ether showed stronger short-term momentum and led the large-cap group. Outside the top two, Solana weakened slightly and XRP saw limited movement. In smaller names, Polkadot posted the strongest advance at 4.76%, followed by SUI at 1.52% and Chainlink at 0.90%. On the downside, NEAR fell 2.05%, ADA lost 1.01%, and AVAX declined 0.74%.
Bitcoin nears its 14-day peak after rebound
Over the past two weeks, Bitcoin rebounded from a $58,331 low on July 1 to a high of $64,443 on July 10, marking a 9.8% gain across 14 days. At current levels, it sits only about 0.5% below that peak. Ether moved more sharply, climbing from $1,554 on June 29 to $1,813 on July 7, for a 16% rise over the same period.
Fear index stays low despite price recovery
Sentiment has not recovered at the same pace as prices. The CoinGecko Fear and Greed Index stands at 26, still in the fear zone. The source material noted that Bitcoin is already trading close to the top of its recent range, yet retail risk appetite has not fully returned, pointing to a cautious market tone even as prices grind higher.
Analysts focus on the Fed as the next trigger
In a Q3 2026 crypto market review released on July 9, Bitwise described current conditions as defensively bullish. The firm said Bitcoin rose moderately after the Fed rate cut in late June, but trading volume remained below 2025 levels. Bitwise said Bitcoin could test $70,000 if the Fed delivers a clear easing signal at its meeting later this month.
Bitcoin Foundation said in a July 2 report that its year-end Bitcoin targets are $85,000 and $100,000, while identifying the $60,000 to $65,000 range as strong support. Marex wrote in mid-June that the market structure after the Fed cut was defensive but fragile, with bullish control unsupported by strong volume. CryptoRank, in a late-June chart analysis, said Bitcoin had entered a technical buy zone and set short-term and medium-term targets at $68,000 and $75,000. It also highlighted a BTC/ETH ratio near 35.7, with Ether showing stronger relative performance.
For now, the main levels in focus are the Fed meeting at the end of July and whether Bitcoin can hold above the recent high area around $64,500.