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Bitcoin Slips Below $118K, ETH, XRP Pare Big Gains, but Rally Remains on Firm Ground, Says Coinbase
Expect pullbacks, but there's not yet the type of runaway speculation associated with tops, Coinbase analysts said.
Jul 18, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
What to know:
- Crypto prices cooled off on Friday as investors took profits following optimism over potential U.S. legislation and retirement account investments in digital assets.
- Bitcoin (BTC) slipped to $117,500, while ETH and XRP shed some of the overnight advance.
- While pullbacks are expected, derivatives markets, on-chain data and macro backdrop suggest bitcoin has more room to run higher, a Coinbase report said.
The crypto rally cooled off on Friday as the "crypto week" optimism over Congress passing landmark crypto legislation and President Trump potentially opening up retirement accounts for digital asset investments turned into a profit-taking opportunity.
Bitcoin slipped to $117,500 during the U.S. session from trading above $120,000 earlier, down 0.6% over the past 24 hours. It's also now just about flat week-over-week even after Monday's rally to just below $124,000. Ether earlier Friday surged to near its 2025 high around $3,700 before turning lower, changing hands around $3,550 recently, still up 4.5% over the last day and more than 20% over the past week.
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XRP broke above its 2018 record late Thursday and hit a fresh all-time high of $3.60 early Friday, then retraced below $3.4 retaining 4% daily gain and 35% weekly advance.
The CoinDesk 20 Index, a broad-market benchmark tracking major cryptos, also hit a record high of 4,133 overnight before declining 3.7% from that peak.
On the macro front, a July survey by the University of Michigan showed that consumer sentiment is still down 16% from December 2024 and below historical average despite the recent uptick. Inflation expectations still cooled but remained elevated: consumers expected 4.4% inflation for the year ahead, down from 5% last month, while long-run inflation expectation fell to 3.6% from 4%.
Capping the crypto week, Trump is expected to sign the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act into law, marking this first major federal law designed to regulate the crypto industry.
Read more: Trump to Sign the Historic GENIUS Act Into Law. What Does It Mean for Crypto?
What's next for BTC?
While bitcoin languished below record levels, rotation to other cryptocurrencies accelerated through the week. ETH and XRP advanced 20%-25% over the past, with other large-caps including , , and natIve tokens of , , Uniswap all booking double-digit gains versus flat BTC.
Coinbase analysts, led by head of research David Duong, said in a Friday report that the current rally is "powered by structural strength and steady accumulation, not runaway speculation."
Derivatives markets are not showing excessive froth, global liquidity conditions are supporting risk assets and ETFs, treasury companies show continuous demand, they argued, forecasting that bitcoin has more room to run.
"Pullbacks may occur, but we think current on-chain and market signals argue that bitcoin’s advance stands on solid ground rather than late-cycle euphoria," the authors said.
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