Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, lost momentum in early Tuesday trading, slipping about 2% to $118,400 over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. The pullback has delayed bullish hopes for a fresh all-time high, even though BTC remains up 3.19% over the past week amid volatile market swings.
Ethereum (ETH) held steady around $4,300, marking a 16% gain in the last seven days. However, several popular altcoins posted double-digit daily losses.
In a notable move, U.S.-listed spot Ether ETFs saw record-breaking inflows of $1.02 billion on Monday — the highest since their mid-2024 debut — as institutional investors snapped up around 240,000 ETH. The surge extended a five-day streak of inflows totaling $1.8 billion, pushing aggregate inflows to $10.8 billion.
Bitcoin briefly topped $122,000 on August 11, lifting its market capitalization close to $2.5 trillion, before retreating below $119,000. The decline reflects mixed investor sentiment ahead of July U.S. inflation data, which could influence whether the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in September.
Market mood was partially supported by President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on planned tariff hikes against China. Institutional appetite also remained strong, with one investment strategy revealing it had purchased an additional 155 BTC for about $18 million at an average price of $116,401.
Still, profit-taking by retail traders and caution over inflation kept the broader market under pressure. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization fell 1.2% to $3.94 trillion at the time of writing.
