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:Crypto Daybook Americas
By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
The crypto market's beating on Thursday spurred industry heavyweights into "plunge protection" mode, a term for coordinated moves to steady a sinking ship.
As bitcoin neared $81,000, the lowest since November, and analysts warned of a deeper drop, Binance sprang into action. The largest crypto exchange by volume traded said it will switch its user protection fund into bitcoin from stablecoins and, more importantly, buy BTC to replenish the fund back to $1 billion if the value fell below $800 million.
Crypto billionaire and Tron founder Justin Sun acknowledged Binance's effort, announcing on X that Tron will also buy more bitcoin in the future.
These moves are likely aimed at calming market nerves and, potentially, putting a floor under BTC prices. But traditional markets teach us that such efforts can be overpowered by broader forces. For instance, how many times has the Bank of Japan's intervention failed to stem the yen's slide?
In other words, the market needs a clear bullish catalyst to stabilize and the odds appear stacked against that. Dollar liquidity is tightening, as noted by Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes, and the rise of Kevin Warsh, a former hawkish Fed official who cited inflation risks after the 2008 crash, as a preferred candidate for the central bank's chairmanship, is seen as a generally adverse development for BTC and other risk assets. Still, though a hawk, Warsh has on occasion spoken positively about bitcoin and has had investments in crypto adjacent projects in the past.
Bitcoin has shown no respite so far. It recently traded near $82,700, slightly up from overnight lows, but still down over 6% on a 24-hour basis. Other major tokens, ether ETH$2,742.63, XRP XRP$1.7626, solana SOL$113.80, DOGE$0.1130, and BNB BNB$845.99, posted similar losses.
At the same time, BTC's market dominance slipped to 59.16%. This might signal altcoins' relative resilience from underlying demand, setting them up for a big move higher once sentiment stabilizes. But that's not necessarily true: Altcoins underperformed throughout bitcoin's bull run from early 2023 to October 2025, with limited participation, it might be they're simply holding up better as the bull market unravels.
In traditional markets, precious metals like gold and silver, plus industrial copper, have pulled back sharply from record highs. Analysts noted earlier this month that once these trends run out of steam, money could rotate back to crypto. We'll see if that plays out. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead".
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Source: Farside Investors
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