Bitcoin Plummets to $114K While Altcoins Implode - But Ethereum Defies the Crash

Bloodbath across crypto markets as Bitcoin nosedives to $114K - dragging most altcoins down with it.

Ethereum's surprising resilience

While panic selling gripped the market, ETH stood firm against the tidal wave of red. No fancy explanations - just pure market defiance while everything else crumbled.

Traders scrambling for cover

The usual 'hedge against inflation' crowd suddenly remembers crypto's volatility - almost like watching Wall Street bankers discover risk for the first time. Who could have predicted that digital assets might actually be... risky?

Ethereum's stand might just prove that fundamentals still matter in this madness - or it's just the calm before another spectacular crash.

This Week’s Summary

The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $3.96 trillion.

Bitcoin decreased its trading value to around $114,00 following a rough week.

Ethereum gained nearly 4% to trade at around $4,750.

XRP is down 4%, Solana is up 6%, and Dogecoin is down 2%.

Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions.

The DeFi sector increased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around $161 billion.

Crypto Trends 18 – 24 August 2025: Market Analysis and Performance

The crypto market closed a week marked by hiccups, during which many cryptocurrencies lost precious gains. Following several weeks of steady ascent, Bitcoin and the altcoins contracted as new FED rate cuts and increased inflation rumors affected their evolution. As a result, even the overall market capitalization dropped below the newly-conquered $4 trillion threshold, settling at around $3.96 trillion.

Bitcoin started the week trading at around $118,000. However, the king of cryptocurrencies did not stay around that mark for too long. Its value dropped steadily with every passing hour, reaching as low as $112,000 on Thursday. Fortunately, the investors regrouped to buy some of the market inflow and took BTC’s value back to around $117,000.

Ethereum started the week poorly, dropping essential points along the way. However, it recovered spectacularly over the weekend, coming only a few dollars away from its ATH at $4,891. The second crypto in command continues to grow and is now aiming to climb over the daunting $5,000 threshold.

Altcoins & DeFi

Most altcoins are trading in the red, with some exceptions. For example, XRP is down 4%, Solana is up 6%, Cardano is down 8%, Avalanche is up 1%, Sui is down 6%, chainlink is up 3%, TRON is up 4%, and Toncoin is down 5%. On the other hand, Stellar is down by 7%.

The memecoins also saw some interesting trajectories. For instance, Dogecoin is down 2%, shiba inu is down 3%, and Pepecoin is down 5%.

The Metaverse sector has also seen notable movements in the past week. For instance, Axie Infinity is down 3%, The Sandbox is down 3%, and Floki is down 5%. Meanwhile, Decentraland is down 3%, Render is down 9%, and ApeCoin is down 4%. Stacks decreased by 8%, Virtuals by 4%, and MultiversX by 2%. On the other hand, Wemix is up by 3%.

The DeFi sector added nearly $6 billion to the total value locked in protocols (TVL), reaching around $161 billion.

Crypto Market Analysis – What’s in the News?

Jackson Hole, the current Fed Chair, warned that Trump’s tariff policy has started to harm prices and increase inflation.

Next Week’s Crypto Market Forecast

The crypto market slowed down its bullish journey. Some experts expected this setback, while others hoped for a continuous surge and a firm establishment above the $4 trillion in market cap. While the overall market sentiment is slightly negative, things should turn around starting next week.