Bitcoin Struggles to Maintain $116,000 as Early Adopters Shift to Ether

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless otherwise stated) The cryptocurrency market has experienced a slowdown since Saturday, with bitcoin failing to sustain gains above $116,000 due to ongoing selling by early adopter wallets. Blockchain analyst Lookonchain reported that on Sunday, a long-term bitcoin holder, who had previously exchanged 35,991 BTC for 886,731 ETH, transferred 1,176 BTC worth over $136 million to Hyperliquid and began selling. Other long-term holders have also been liquidating their coins in recent months as the market adjusts to a six-figure price as the new standard for BTC. However, the latest selling activity is not limited to long-term holders, as on-chain data from Glassnode indicates that wallets of all sizes have resumed distributing coins. In the case of ether, whale wallets continue to increase their exposure, suggesting that ether may outperform bitcoin. Nevertheless, the ether-bitcoin ratio on Binance has fallen for the third consecutive day, failing to capitalize on the descending trendline breakout confirmed on Friday. Memecoins, which had recently outperformed, have also come under pressure, with top tokens DOGE and SHIB losing 10% and 6%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. Solana's native token, SOL, traded over 2% lower at $234, despite key industry players taking steps to accelerate the adoption of Solana-native decentralized finance (DeFi). Kyle Samani, chairman of Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company Forward Industries, stated on X that the company plans to deploy funds into Solana-based DeFi protocols. Last week, Forward raised $1.65 billion in a private placement led by Multicoin Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Jump Crypto. Samani was responding to an idea proposed by crypto trader Ansem, who suggested that corporate treasury funds should invest in Solana-based DeFi to boost the network's DeFi appeal relative to industry giant Ethereum. In traditional markets, investor positioning in the S&P 500 appears heavily biased towards bullish sentiment. "Sentiment is at extremes. Be cautious," warned pseudonymous observer The Short Bear on X. Remain alert! Key Events to Watch Token Events Conferences Token Talk By Oliver Knight Derivatives Positioning by Omkar Godbole Market Movements Bitcoin Statistics Technical Analysis Crypto Equities Crypto Treasury Companies ETF Flows Spot BTC ETFs Spot ETH ETFs Source: Farside Investors Market Updates