After a week in which many digital assets fell by more than 25%, the crypto market has shifted into a consolidation phase. The total value of the crypto economy was hovering just below $1 trillion at around $987 billion, up 1.3% over the past 24 hours. While bitcoin and several large-cap assets were largely range-bound, a handful of altcoin markets continued to post notable gains.
Bitcoin and major assets stabilize
At the time of publication, bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $36,400, giving it a market capitalization of roughly $677 billion and a dominance rate of 66%. Over different time frames, BTC remained firmly positive, rising 4% over seven days, 54% over 30 days, 209% over the last three months, and 324% over the past year. Ether (ETH) changed hands at $1,236 with a market value of around $141 billion, posting gains of 15% for the week, 90% for the month, and more than 651% year over year.
In the market-cap rankings, Tether (USDT) remained third, while Polkadot (DOT) held the fourth spot at about $17 per token. XRP traded near $0.28, down less than 1% on the week but still off by more than 50% over 30 days. Cardano (ADA) stood out with a price of $0.37, gaining 36% for the week and 108% over the month. Litecoin (LTC) traded at $148, up more than 9% on the week, while Bitcoin Cash (BCH) changed hands at $492, up over 5% in seven days and 58% over the past 30 days.
Analysts push back on bear market calls
The recent sell-off led some mainstream commentators to suggest that crypto was entering a bear market, but not all analysts agreed. eToro market analyst Simon Peters argued that bitcoin’s behavior last week was relatively steady despite the heightened discussion around crashes and bubbles. According to Peters, bitcoin started near $30,000, climbed to about $40,000 by Thursday, and then pulled back over the weekend while still holding at elevated levels.
He said it was difficult to classify the current market as bearish from a broader perspective. In his view, the volatility looks similar to what has been seen in previous bull runs, but the dollar swings appear larger simply because bitcoin now trades at a much higher absolute price. On a percentage basis, he suggested, the move is far less extraordinary. That supportive backdrop, he said, helps explain why bitcoin recovered relatively easily from last week’s setback.
On-chain accumulation remains a key signal
On-chain data offered another constructive indicator. Glassnode CTO Rafael Schultze-Kraft said that 2.7 million BTC are currently held in so-called accumulation addresses, representing an increase of 17% over the past year. These are addresses that have received at least two incoming transactions and have never spent funds, with miner and exchange addresses excluded from the calculation.
The data suggests that a segment of the market continues to accumulate bitcoin despite sharp short-term volatility. At the same time, some traders believe that as bitcoin consolidates, altcoins may continue to attract speculative interest. Taken together, the latest price action and address-level data indicate that while the market remains volatile, sentiment has not decisively shifted toward a bearish outlook.