Crypto Market Sees Shift as Bitcoin Declines and Altcoins Rise

By: Eva Baxter

Despite a decline in Bitcoin, a number of alternative cryptocurrencies remain robust. Fantom (FTM), for instance, emerged as the top-performing Layer 1 blockchain. Concurrently, Coinbase rolled out futures trading. Bitcoin's falling trajectory witnessed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experiencing a $94 million outflow, yet this did not significantly impact the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) outflows. However, a potential liquidation of approximately $1 billion worth of Bitcoin shorts could occur if prices climb to $67.8k.

Interestingly, despite Bitcoin's slip, the digital currency managed to maintain seven months of consecutive positive performance. On another front, Solana's (SOL) decentralized exchange (DEX) posted impressive results, achieving a monthly volume of $50 billion, its revenue soaring 30-fold. In support of these positive findings, OKX announced it will be supporting a new Solana token standard.

Although Layer 2 activity was expected to pick up post-Dencun, according to Vitalik Buterin it has remained sluggish. Amid all the shifts and developments, Bitcoin dropped to $64K, marking the first negative week since late January after U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs faced over $830 million in outflows.