The Weekly Wrap

Crypto markets faced another heavy week, with sentiment sinking deeper into extreme fear.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell to 10, marking one of its lowest readings in recent months, while the total crypto market cap declined another 7.27% over the past seven days to around US$2.11 trillion.

ETF flows also remained under pressure. Bitcoin ETFs recorded US$1.72 billion in outflows, while Ethereum ETFs saw US$173.05 million in net withdrawals, adding to the cautious tone across the market.

Red continued to dominate over the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin’s move lower adding further pressure across the broader market. Altcoins were hit particularly hard, with many major tokens seeing sharp sell-offs as risk appetite weakened.

After another difficult week, the market remains firmly in risk-off mode as investors wait for signs of stabilisation.

Bitcoin vs Gold vs Nasdaq YTD

🟡 Gold: -1.44%

🔵 NASDAQ: +14.59%

🟠 Bitcoin: -29.47%

The gap between traditional markets and Bitcoin has widened again this week. The Nasdaq remains the clear outperformer, up 14.59% year to date, showing continued strength across growth and tech-related assets despite recent volatility. 

Gold has slipped slightly into negative territory, now down 1.44% year to date after losing momentum from its earlier highs.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, remains under heavy pressure and is now down 29.47% year to date. After attempting to recover through April and May, BTC has rolled over sharply into June, highlighting the continued divergence between crypto, equities and traditional safe-haven assets.

Source: Tradingview, BTC, GOLD, NASDAQ

Macro

The S&P 500 has shown its first clear break of structure on the 4-hour timeframe after trending higher since early April.

The index had been forming a steady pattern of higher highs and higher lows, rallying around 20.62% from its April lows before pulling back 4.96% over the past week.

This shift is worth watching because the S&P 500 often acts as a broader risk appetite gauge. If the index has started to top out, or if selling pressure continues across equities, it could add further pressure to Bitcoin and the wider crypto market as investors move away from risk assets.

For now, the key question is whether this is a short-term pullback within the broader uptrend, or the start of a deeper risk-off move across markets.

BTC

Bitcoin remains under heavy pressure after losing the trendline highlighted in last week’s update. After breaking below that key structure, BTC moved sharply lower and pushed towards the bottom of its recent trading range near US$60,000. Price briefly swept below the range low before seeing a small bounce, suggesting buyers are attempting to defend this area.

This makes the US$60,000 level an important area to watch. If Bitcoin can hold around this range low, it may give the market some room to stabilise after the recent sell-off.

However, if selling pressure continues and BTC breaks cleanly below US$60,000, the next major area of interest sits around the US$50,000 to US$52,000 zone.

For now, Bitcoin is sitting at a key decision point, with broader market weakness and declining risk appetite continuing to weigh on sentiment.

Strategy was back in the headlines this week after purchasing another 1,550 Bitcoin for around US$101 million, lifting its total holdings to 845,256 BTC.

The buy came shortly after the company disclosed a small sale of 32 BTC, its first Bitcoin sale in years, which sparked plenty of debate across the market. While the sale represented only a tiny fraction of Strategy’s overall holdings, it still caught attention because of Michael Saylor’s long-standing “never sell your Bitcoin” messaging.

Some traders have speculated that the small sale may have been used to test how the market would react, especially as Strategy later returned with a larger buy at lower prices. However, the company’s filings point more directly to cash management, dividend payments and debt obligations as the reason behind the move.

BUY BTC 

ETH

Ethereum is also sitting in a fragile position, with ETH trading near US$1,640 after another sharp move lower.

The key level to watch is the low near US$1,000. If selling pressure continues, ETH could begin moving back towards that area, which would be significant given Ethereum has not traded below US$1,000 since 2022.

The pressure on ETH is not just technical. Ethereum’s fee revenue has also fallen sharply from its 2021 highs, with more activity shifting to Layer 2 networks and DeFi activity remaining well below peak levels. This has raised fresh debate around Ethereum’s value capture, validator incentives and the strength of the “ultrasound money” narrative.

For now, ETH remains under pressure alongside the broader crypto market. Holding above the US$1,000 to US$1,200 zone would be important for confidence, while a clean break below that area could mark one of Ethereum’s most significant technical breakdowns. 

BUY ETH

ALTCOINS

Real World Assets (RWA): -3.16%

Decentralised Finance (DeFi): -8.87

Meme: -7.76%

Artificial Intelligence (AI): -13.38%

Gaming (GameFi): +10.61%

Altcoin sectors were mostly under pressure this week, with four of the five major categories finishing in the red.

Artificial Intelligence was the weakest sector, falling 13.38% over the past seven days, while DeFi dropped 8.87% and Meme coins fell 7.76%. Real World Assets held up slightly better than the broader altcoin market, but still finished down 3.16%.

Gaming was the clear standout, rising 10.61% despite the wider market sell-off. This made GameFi one of the few pockets of strength in an otherwise difficult week for altcoins.

The broader picture remains cautious. As Bitcoin moved lower, many altcoin sectors saw sharper selling, highlighting how quickly risk appetite has faded across the crypto market. For now, investors appear to be reducing exposure to higher-risk areas, while only select sectors are managing to hold momentum.

Source: Coingecko categories

Story of the week: 

🚀 SpaceX IPO Sparks Mega-Tech Excitement

The upcoming SpaceX IPO has become one of the most talked-about listings in years, with reports pointing to a US$135 share price and a valuation of around US$1.77 trillion.

Investor demand has already been significant, with SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic forming part of a new wave of mega-tech listings that could test just how much appetite remains for AI, space and infrastructure-related growth stories.

For crypto users, the IPO has also highlighted the growing role of tokenised markets. Some platforms are offering tokenised exposure to SpaceX-linked shares, giving users price exposure to the underlying stock without necessarily owning the actual equity.

That distinction matters. Tokenised shares may track the price of a real-world asset, but they usually do not provide the same rights as direct share ownership, such as voting rights or traditional shareholder protections.

With SpaceX expected to attract heavy retail interest, the listing could become an important test case for how traditional IPO demand and tokenised market access continue to overlap.

THIS WEEKS INSIGHTS

The Trend Era: Crypto markets are changing, the old playbook of Bitcoin running first, Ethereum following, and altcoins eventually getting their turn is becoming less reliable.

In our latest insight, we look at why this cycle feels more fragmented, why altcoins are increasingly moving in short-lived narrative waves, and how attention, liquidity and timing now play a bigger role across the market.

From AI and meme coins to RWAs, DeFi and stablecoins, crypto has become less of one broad altseason and more of a rotating trend market.

Read the full article: https://www.cointree.com/news/the-trend-era/