Crypto Bloodbath 2025: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Technical Breakdown Signals Deeper Decline Ahead

Major cryptocurrencies face brutal selloff as technical indicators flash red across the board.

Technical Meltdown in Progress

Bitcoin's chart structure collapses below key support levels—traders watch in horror as the flagship cryptocurrency breaches critical moving averages. Ethereum follows suit with its smart contract ecosystem showing unusual weakness. XRP gets hammered despite recent regulatory clarity, proving once again that in crypto, good news often means sell orders.

Market Psychology Shifts

Fear replaces greed as institutional money pulls back from digital asset exposure. The 'buy the dip' crowd grows quieter with each support level broken. Trading volumes spike to panic levels while leverage gets flushed from the system—classic capitulation signals that make seasoned traders nostalgic for 2018.

Traditional Finance Smirks

Wall Street analysts emerge from their cubicles to declare 'we told you so' while conveniently ignoring their own portfolio losses in commercial real estate. The age-old dance continues: crypto crashes 40% and traditional finance acts surprised when it rallies 200% six months later.

Bottom line: Technical damage takes time to repair. Either we're witnessing the great crypto unwind or the mother of all buying opportunities—because in this market, the difference between disaster and fortune is usually just a few weeks.

Data spotlight: Bitcoin eyes $110,000 as retail interest dwindles

Bitcoin has declined by approximately 3% over the last week, reflecting a sticky risk-off sentiment in the broader cryptocurrency market. The sell-off followed a macro-triggered uptrend, capped NEAR $118,000, as investors positioned themselves ahead of the United States (US) Federal Reserve's (Fed) 25 basis-point interest rate cut on September 17.

Attempts to sustain the uptrend failed, reflecting aggressive profit-taking, particularly among the large-volume holders. The surge in supply has continued to overshadow demand, leaving the Bitcoin price susceptible to losses. 

CoinGlass data shows that retail interest began fading on Friday, with the futures Open Interest (OI) dropping to $81.29 billion from $85.79 billion on Thursday. 

OI tracks the notional value of outstanding futures contracts; hence, a persistent drop suggests that traders are losing confidence in the market. It also means that sentiment is weakening, as liquidations force traders to close long positions, again contributing to selling pressure.

Bitcoin Futures Open Interest | Source: CoinGlass

Chart of the day: Can Bitcoin bulls hold key support?

Bitcoin trades significantly below key moving averages on the 4-hour chart, which have confirmed a Death Cross pattern. The 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) crossed below the 100-period EMA on Thursday and is likely to extend the decline beneath the 200-period EMA in upcoming sessions, underpinning the prevailing risk-off sentiment.

A rising wedge pattern on the same 4-hour chart projects that Bitcoin could extend the decline below the $110,000 level before regaining bullish momentum. This would result in a 5% drop below the wedge pattern, as shown on the chart below.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Still, traders should temper their bearish expectations, considering the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 37 on the 4-hour chart has begun to stabilize, which could be followed by a reversal toward the midline. Higher RSI readings indicate that bullish momentum is building, thereby supporting a potential recovery.

Altcoins update: Ethereum and XRP uphold key support levels 

Ethereum tested the $4,000 short-term support earlier on Thursday, extending the correction from the beginning of the week. The smart contracts token also holds below key moving averages, including the 50-period, 100-period, and 200-period EMAs on the 4-hour chart, underscoring negative sentiment in the broader cryptocurrency market.

Two Death Cross patterns on the same 4-hour chart back the downtrend, as investors sit on the sidelines, anticipating further losses below $4,000. The 50-period EMA crossed below the 100-period EMA on Monday and extended the decline below the 200-period EMA on Wednesday, reinforcing the bearish grip.

If bears breach the $4,000 short-term support level, the ethereum price could extend the down leg toward the next round-number demand area around $3,800. 

Still, traders should temper their bearish expectations, considering the RSI has steadied at 24 amid oversold conditions, which often precede bullish trend reversals.

ETH/USD 4-hour chart

As for XRP, bulls are delicately holding onto support at $2.83, provided by the 100-day EMA, after facing rejection at the 50-day EMA positioned at $2.83. Investors WOULD anticipate another breakout attempt from the short-term support, but the downward-facing RSI on the daily chart could challenge the bullish outlook, leaving XRP vulnerable to further losses.

XRP/USD daily chart

Key areas of interest for traders are the demand level at $2.70, which was previously tested on Monday, and the 200-day EMA at $2.60. On the other hand, a successful break above the 50-day EMA at $2.94 would back the trend reversal. Still, risks could remain tilted downward until the xrp price breaks the overall downtrend marked by a descending trendline since late July.

Cryptocurrency prices FAQs

How do new token launches or listings affect cryptocurrency prices?

Token launches influence demand and adoption among market participants. Listings on crypto exchanges deepen the liquidity for an asset and add new participants to an asset’s network. This is typically bullish for a digital asset.

How do hacks affect cryptocurrency prices?

A hack is an event in which an attacker captures a large volume of the asset from a DeFi bridge or hot wallet of an exchange or any other crypto platform via exploits, bugs or other methods. The exploiter then transfers these tokens out of the exchange platforms to ultimately sell or swap the assets for other cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. Such events often involve an en masse panic triggering a sell-off in the affected assets.

How do macroeconomic releases and events affect cryptocurrency prices?

Macroeconomic events like the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates influence crypto assets mainly through the direct impact they have on the US Dollar. An increase in interest rate typically negatively influences bitcoin and altcoin prices, and vice versa. If the US Dollar index declines, risk assets and associated leverage for trading gets cheaper, in turn driving crypto prices higher.

How do major crypto upgrades like halvings, hard forks affect cryptocurrency prices?

Halvings are typically considered bullish events as they slash the block reward in half for miners, constricting the supply of the asset. At consistent demand if the supply reduces, the asset’s price climbs.