Solana, Cardano Lead Crypto Market Lower as Traders Grapple With Bitcoin Headwinds

Prominent cryptocurrencies started the week in the red as fears of large bitcoin [BTC] sales continue to confront investors, who are likely scaling back exposure in the broader market in anticipation of lower prices.

CoinDesk 20, a liquid index of the highest traded tokens, slumped 2.86% in the past 24 hours.

Solana’s SOL and Cardano’s ADA fell 5% in the past 24 hours, leading losses among majors. BNB Chain’s BNB was little changed amid demand for launchpads that require the token on the crypto exchange Binance. Dogecoin [DOGE] initially bucked the broader market weakness amid speculation of adoption in an upcoming feature on social application X but has retreated in the past 6 hours.

Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency by market value, lost the $41,000 support level early Monday. Traders expect prices to fall as low as $38,000 in the coming weeks, which could lead to more losses in other cryptocurrencies.

Recent downward pressure on bitcoin has been attributed to sales stemming from Grayscale’s GBTC bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), as per some analysts, including Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas.

Verified wallets belonging to Grayscale, tracked and labeled by analysis firm Arkham, show that the fund moved over $400 million worth of bitcoin to custodian Coinbase Prime on Thursday – potentially a step toward an eventual sale, as reported.

However, other newly approved bitcoin ETFs are seeing net inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC ETFs crossed $1 billion last week, data tracked by CoinGlass shows, indicative of buying pressure.