Crypto majors slid further on Thursday and the dollar gained ground as fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East intensified.
XRP XRP, Cardano’s ADA ADA, and Solana’s SOL SOL lost over 1% in the past 24 hours, while dogecoin DOGE is flat on the day but down over 10% for the week, wiping out its early June rally. Ether ETH lost 0.7%, reversing all gains from earlier in the week.
As such, spot bitcoin BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. continued to attract inflows, with over $389 million in fresh buys on Wednesday, data shows. Spot ETH ETFs racked up $19 million in positive flows.
U.S. officials are reportedly weighing a direct strike on Iran, while the Federal Reserve flagged a more persistent inflation outlook, spooking investors and pushing equities, crypto majors, and commodities into choppy waters.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that tariffs and global conflict could make it harder to tame inflation. While the central bank held rates steady, Powell said the cost of tariffs “will fall on the end consumer,” and that the Fed needs to “see more” before cutting.
Altcoins, considered higher-risk bets, are typically the first to get dumped in times of macro stress.
Bitcoin continues to remains rangebound. While the largest cryptocurrency has climbed 13% year-to-date, buoyed by ETF inflows and dollar weakness, it hasn’t acted decisively as either a safe haven or a risk asset this week.
“Bitcoin seems stuck between two worlds,” said FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich. “It’s not reacting to rising risk appetite, nor surging like gold during heightened conflict.”