Cardano's ADA Leads Major Cryptocurrency Slips Amid Bitcoin Profit Taking; ProShares Updates XRP ETF Listing
The stock market decline came after Chinese shares in Hong Kong fell 2.9% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, despite China's economy growing 5.4% in the first quarter.
Shaurya Malwa | Edited by Parikshit Mishra on April 16, 2025, 6:03 AM
Key points:
- Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies fell more than 3% on profit-taking after Tuesday's rally.
- XRP price is expected to fall despite positive ETF performance.
- Large investors have slowed their Bitcoin selling, but accumulation remains low.
Bitcoin (BTC) and other major tokens lost more than 3% as Tuesday's gains led to profit-taking in Asian morning trading on Wednesday, in line with expectations.
The overall crypto market capitalization has fallen 3.3% in the last 24 hours, with BTC falling to nearly $83,500 from a high of over $84,200 the day before. Ether (ETH) and Cardano's ADA have fallen 5%, leading the losses among the major cryptocurrencies.
XRP has shown steady declines, with price action suggesting a drop in the coming days. However, fundamentals have shown positive growth as ETF provider ProShares updated its filing for a spot XRP ETF (to be offered in the US) on Tuesday — with a target launch date of April 30.
Bitcoin selling by large investors has weakened as they begin to realize losses, research firm CryptoQuant reported in a note to CoinDesk. Daily bitcoin selling by large investors has dropped from a peak of 800,000 BTC in late February to around 300,000 BTC per day.
“The slowdown in selling has occurred as these investors have realized losses since late February amid low prices,” the analysts noted. “However, accumulation by large investors remains weak. Their holdings have declined by about 30,000 BTC in the last week, and the rate of accumulation has fallen from 2.7% at the end of March to just 0.5% — the slowest pace since February 20.”
The stock market decline came after Chinese shares in Hong Kong fell 2.9% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, despite China's economy growing 5.4% in the first quarter.
The level of impact of tariffs continues to worry traders, whose risk-mitigation moves ultimately put pressure on crypto markets.
“There’s no doubt that U.S. recession fears are growing as major institutions are sharply revising their forecasts upward,” James Toledano, COO of Unity Wallet, told CoinDesk in an email. “Economic growth is expected to slow to between 0.1% and 1%, and many believe these risks are already priced into stocks, but I’m not sure we’ve bottomed out yet.”
“Nevertheless, interest in Bitcoin as a decentralized asset appears to be growing, especially amid the volatility of traditional markets. While Trump’s policies have created significant macroeconomic uncertainty, they may paradoxically contribute to Bitcoin’s recent rally, although risks remain high for all markets, including cryptocurrencies,” Toledano added.
