Bitcoin, Ether End First Half with Consecutive Quarterly Losses
Bitcoin slipped below $60,000 over the weekend and is poised to end a weak first half of the year with a roughly 12% drop in the second quarter after a 22% decline in the first. Major altcoins have fallen even more sharply, with ether down about 25% this quarter and other tokens such as dogecoin, HYPE and XRP posting double-digit weekly losses while tron and solana proved relatively more resilient. The back-to-back losing quarters, driven by outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, a hawkish Federal Reserve and a strong dollar, break from bitcoin’s historically strong second-quarter performance and leave traders watching whether the weakness persists into the third quarter. Ether fell 9.5% on the week to about $1,567, dogecoin dropped 11.7% to $0.073, Hyperliquid's HYPE lost 10.6% and XRP slid 8.7% to $1.04. Solana held up better at $70, off 3.5%, and tron was the most resilient, down 1.5%. The drivers are the same ones that have defined the month: capital flowing to semiconductor stocks amid the AI boom, ETF outflows, hawkish Fed under new Chair Kevin Warsh, and a strong U.S. dollar. Traders will watch whether the weakness continues into the third quarter.
Key facts
- Bitcoin fell below $60,000, on track for Q2 decline of ~12% and Q1 decline of ~22%.
- Ether down ~25% in Q2; altcoins like dogecoin, HYPE, XRP saw double-digit weekly losses.
- Tron and Solana proved more resilient, with weekly drops of 1.5% and 3.5% respectively.
- Drivers include ETF outflows, hawkish Fed, strong dollar, and AI-driven shift to semiconductor stocks.
- Back-to-back losing quarters break bitcoin's historical pattern of strong Q2 performance.