Bitcoin Starts the Week on the Low End, Dragging Down Other Cryptocurrencies

BTC plunged below $66,000 early Monday morning, settling at around $65,900 before gradually bouncing back above $66,000, according to CoinGecko data.

Bitcoin started the week in the red, and the downturn appeared to have affected other major cryptocurrencies as well, with most of the other coins usually in the top 10 of the ranks also posting losses.

BTC dropped below the $66,000 level early Monday morning, settling at around $65,900 before gradually bouncing back above $66,000, CoinGecko data showed. At one point late Sunday, the digital currency slipped to as low as around $66,800.

But Bitcoin wasn’t the only digital asset starting the week on a weak note.

Ethereum’s Ether (ETH), the world’s second-largest digital asset by market value after BTC, was trading down 0.1% in the last 24 hours. Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 0.4%, Lido Staked Ether ($TETH) declined 0.2%, and Dogecoin (DOGE), the top memecoin in the market, slipped 2.0% in the last day.

In the memecoin ranks, only two tokens managed to survive the 24-hour beating. All other coins in the top 10 of CoinGecko’s memecoin rankings declined in the past day, including popular Shiba Inu (SHIB) that fell 2.5%, FLOKI, which saw a 5.4% decline, and Donald Trump-themed MAGA, which was down by 2.9%.

Bitcoin has been trading sideways in recent days, and some Bitcoiners on X (formerly Twitter) appeared to be growing anxious over the price’s struggle to hit $70,000 and stay there.

One user said the coin’s price is “going sideways for far too long.” Another user theorized that the reason Bitcoin hasn’t been going up as many maximalists have predicted is because the price is “being held back by the bears.”

But despite Bitcoin’s continuing difficulties in climbing nearly two months after the April 20 halving that split mining rewards in half, some industry experts believe the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency is only on an upward trajectory.

Global investment firm AllianceBernstein said late last week that it sees Bitcoin reaching $200,000 next year. Notably, Bernstein analysts previously projected a $150,000 price target for the digital asset by the end of 2025.

They said the increased price target is based on “unprecedented Bitcoin demand” from spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as supply being limited after the halving.

And there are also maximalists like MicroStrategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor, who are unfazed by the price downturn. Instead, he wrote on X Sunday that people should “learn to think in Bitcoin.” Prominent Bitcoiner Kyle Chassé agreed, saying pricing things “in Bitcoin” will make such items “get cheaper” as time goes by.