Crypto Market Rout: Ether, XRP, and Dogecoin Sink Harder Than Bitcoin as Tech Stocks Collapse

The cryptocurrency market entered the weekend under heavy selling pressure, with ether, XRP, and dogecoin absorbing the worst of the damage as a fresh wave of technology stock declines swept risk assets globally.

Ether led losses among large-cap digital assets, tumbling 5.6% over a 24-hour period to approximately $1,555, bringing its weekly decline to 7.9% — the steepest drop among major cryptocurrencies, according to CoinDesk data. XRP dropped 4.9% to $1.03, logging an 8.5% loss over seven days. Dogecoin slid 3.8% to $0.074, extending its weekly slide to 9.8%. Solana proved more resilient, trading at $68 and down just 1.2% for the week.

Among other notable movers, Hyperliquid's HYPE token fell 5.4%, while Tron bucked the trend as the sole gainer, posting a modest 0.4% rise. Bitcoin briefly touched $58,000 before clawing back some ground toward $60,000, ultimately trading around $59,888 — off 2.7% for the day and 4.5% on the week.

The trigger for the selloff came from outside the crypto ecosystem. Global equities dropped to their lowest point in two weeks after Apple shares plunged 6.1% following news the tech giant had raised prices on Macs, iPads, and home devices. Investors immediately began questioning whether rising component costs could slow the memory-chip momentum that has been fueling the AI investment rally. South Korea's Kospi index tumbled as much as 9%, triggering its second circuit-breaker halt of the week, as chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung each shed more than 8%. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.5%. Oil markets offered little relief, with Brent crude slipping below $74 per barrel despite brief supply anxiety sparked by a projectile strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

Crypto-specific dynamics compounded the external pressure. Gabe Selby, head of research at CF Benchmarks, noted in comments to CoinDesk that part of bitcoin's decline stemmed from large holders offloading significant positions into a market that has struggled to absorb additional supply. Selby also pointed to a broader shift in investor attention toward AI-related equities, which has left the crypto market competing for a shrinking slice of overall risk appetite.

Importantly, Selby framed the current downturn as a market-wide cooldown rather than a structural breakdown within crypto itself. He highlighted the $50,000–$60,000 range as a historically critical support zone for bitcoin. "If history is any guide, this is where buyers step in," he stated, identifying $55,000 as the key downside level to monitor and $61,000–$62,000 as the threshold bulls must recapture. He advised traders to keep position sizes measured given ongoing uncertainty.

The broader picture has remained consistent throughout the week: crypto is being dragged lower by a technology-sector selloff it did not initiate, with no strong internal catalysts to provide a counterweight while capital continues rotating into artificial intelligence plays. Altcoins, as has often been the case in risk-off environments, are weakening at a faster pace than bitcoin, amplifying losses across the wider digital asset space.

Until either macro sentiment stabilizes or crypto-specific demand catalysts emerge, market participants appear content to reduce exposure rather than buy the dip.