Bitcoin retreated below $77,000 after the Jackson Hole speech by Kevin Warsh triggered a sharp selloff across cryptocurrency markets. The total crypto market cap declined by $80 billion following the remarks, which were perceived as hawkish toward digital assets.
Bitcoin's recent momentum came to an abrupt halt. The cryptocurrency had surged from under $65,000 on August 19 to nearly $80,000 within 48 hours, eventually reaching $81,500 earlier in the week. However, the decline after Warsh's speech sent it tumbling below $77,000 within an hour, where it has since recovered slightly. Bitcoin is down more than 2% on the day, with its market cap now at $1.555 trillion and dominance over altcoins holding above 57%.
Altcoin Weakness
Major altcoins experienced widespread losses. Ethereum fell nearly 3% to $2,430 after being rejected at the $2,500 level. Ripple's XRP dropped to $1.38, down 3.2% on the day from its recent peak of $1.70. BNB slipped below $690, while SOL, DOGE, LINK, and XLM posted similar declines. Bitcoin Cash fell sharply, declining more than 7% to under $250.
The total cryptocurrency market cap decreased to $2.720 trillion, reflecting the broad-based retreat across the sector.
