Bitcoin and Ethereum Waver as Investors Take Profits on Recent Rally

Top cryptocurrencies experienced a pullback on Thursday, amid signs investors are taking profits off the table after a recent rally.

Bitcoin touched lows of $101,500 at one point, indicating a return to all-time highs might not be as imminent as some bulls hoped.

Sell-offs were more pronounced among major altcoins. Ethereum has fallen by 3% over the past 24 hours—with XRP, Solana and Dogecoin all shedding about 5%.

Risk appetite also appears to be cooling in the stock market too, with the Federal Reserve set to cut interest rates less frequently in 2025 than first thought.

BitcoinBTC · USD

$81,393+5.55%

24H7D1M1YYTD

Sep 12Sep 14Sep 16Sep 18Sep 19

$81.8k$79.7k$77.6k$75.5k

24h HighHigh$81,864

24h LowLow$80,838

VolVol$903.4M

Market projectionsOdds by Myriad

Today$80,000 to $82,000$80k–$82k76% chanceThis week$80,000 to $82,000$80k–$82k76% chance

Price data by CoinGeckoCoinGeckoMore Bitcoin news and projections →

BRN's lead research analyst Valentin Fournier argues healthy inflows into BTC and ETH ETFs "provides a solid foundation for long-term support."

Describing Thursday's declines as a "modest pullback," he wrote: "While this appears to be a healthy correction, altcoins, after leading the rally, are showing more volatility.

"We believe Bitcoin's $100k level will serve as a critical support zone for an extended accumulation phase," Fournier wrote.

YouHodler's chief of markets Ruslan Lienkha told Decrypt that upward momentum is moderating now that tariff negotiations have concluded, with short-term traders deciding to lock in profits across the equity markets.

"This shift in sentiment has spilled over into riskier assets, including Bitcoin. As a result, the current pullback appears to be a correction within a broader medium-term uptrend," he added.

Going forward, Lienkha believes "ongoing global economic uncertainty and persistently high interest rates in the U.S. may act as headwinds" for crypto, and could limit upside potential.

Newhedge measures Bitcoin's correlation with the S&P 500 on a scale of -1 to 1. While -1 indicates there's no connection between these markets, a score closer to 1 suggests they rise and fall in tandem with one another.

With a current reading of 0.86, continued strength for BTC may hinge upon how things unfold on Wall Street.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.