Altcoins Extend Slide as Traders Brace for Fed Decision and Economic Data
Altcoins suffered a second straight week of steep losses Tuesday, pressured by risk-off sentiment ahead of several high-impact U.S. macro events. In contrast, bitcoin and ether remained comparatively stable.
Solana (SOL), XRP, and Cardano (ADA) all dropped more than 3% over the past 24 hours, while Dogecoin (DOGE), Avalanche (AVAX), and Sui (SUI) fell over 5%, according to CoinDesk pricing data. The ongoing retreat has driven seven-day losses for XRP and SOL to roughly 13%, with DOGE down nearly 18%.
Bitcoin (BTC) was little changed at $117,312, and ether (ETH) held steady, highlighting a continued rotation into major caps as altcoins unwind.
The decline comes amid elevated leveraged positioning and mounting concern around the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate decision. The Fed’s two-day policy meeting concludes Wednesday, with most economists expecting rates to remain unchanged. However, political pressure from President Donald Trump to ease monetary policy has added uncertainty.
Markets are also focused on Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report and a series of looming tariff deadlines, further fueling caution across both crypto and equity markets.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq erased early gains to trade modestly lower by session’s end.
