Crypto Market Pulls Back 6.7% as Bitcoin Drops 4.4%

The crypto market experienced a significant pullback on July 15, 2025, with the vast majority of the top 100 coins by market capitalization dropping in value over the past 24 hours. The total market capitalization decreased by 6.7% to $3.74 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $117,000, now trading at $116,999, marking a 4.4% decrease. Ethereum (ETH) also dropped below the $3,000 mark, currently trading at $2,986, a 1.4% decrease. Dogecoin (DOGE) saw the highest decrease in the top 10, falling by 7.6% to $0.1919. Tron (TRX) experienced the smallest drop, decreasing by 1.2% to $0.2992. Among the top 100 coins, five showed gains, with Pump.fun (PUMP) appreciating the most at 9.2% to $0.005976, followed by Bonk (BONK) with an 8.3% increase to $0.00002974. Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) and XDC Network (XDC) saw the largest decreases, falling by 9.3% and 8.9% respectively.

Despite the pullback, market sentiment remains firmly in the greed zone, with the Fear and Greed Index at 70, the highest it has been in over a month. This greed may signal that the market is overheated and ready for a correction. The pullback is not surprising given the recent market surges and new all-time highs. Investors are not panicking as decreases tend to follow market surges, particularly those that lead to new all-time highs. Pullbacks are typical, and this one is neither surprising nor exceptional.

Coinciding with the drop in prices, a long-dormant wallet linked to a “Satoshi-era whale” transferred 17,000 BTC to Galaxy Digital. This is part of a recent series of moves from a whale that has held the coins since 2011. The total amount of BTC moved by these wallets over the past 12 hours was 80,000, worth approximately $8.68 billion. This move highlights the continued activity of early Bitcoin holders and their influence on the market.

James Toledano, Chief Operating Officer at Unity Wallet, commented that Bitcoin seems to be defying economic gravity, perhaps because it was built to. Despite geopolitical instability, inflation, and financial uncertainty, it has remained unfazed, acting as a kind of economic anomaly. Toledano believes that Bitcoin’s core use case as a store of value and hedge during uncertain times is playing out in real time. He also noted that the US provided most of the favorable fuel for this latest run, including bipartisan support, ETF inflows, increasing institutional adoption, and expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut. Despite pullbacks or consolidation near all-time high levels, macro headwinds like rising debt, sticky inflation, and geopolitical tension continue to erode confidence in traditional finance. From Toledano’s perspective, Bitcoin’s role as a scarce, maturing, and in-demand asset has never been clearer.

Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, commented that BTC surged 14.65% over the past week, hitting a fresh all-time high, while investors poured more than $2.7 billion into Bitcoin ETFs, marking the fifth-largest weekly inflow since their launch in January 2024. Rocca believes that this isn’t hype but confirmation that Bitcoin is here to stay. BTC surpassed Amazon to become the world’s fifth-largest asset by market cap. A structural six-figure bottom looks as though it is starting to take shape, and the asset is now firmly positioned alongside the giants of traditional finance. With inflows like those seen in the last week, Bitcoin is no longer on the fringe; it’s part of the global financial system, and the question now is what role it will play in shaping its future.

At the time of writing, BTC trades at $116,999, down from $122,273 at this time yesterday. The day’s highest point was $122,838, with the price dropping since. Notably, this daily high was also the latest all-time high for the coin. Katie Stockton, a crypto analyst and founder at Fairlead Strategies, argues that Bitcoin will reach $135,000 in the medium term. This “seemed pretty aggressive a few days ago, maybe now a little less so.” Ethereum is currently trading at $2,986, having risen to an intra-day high of $3,074 nearly 24 hours ago before decreasing to $2,942 and then recovering slightly to the current level.

Meanwhile, the crypto market sentiment did not move since yesterday, still sitting in greed territory. The Fear and Greed Index is again 70 today, the highest it’s been in more than a month. Unsurprisingly, given today’s pullback, this greed may signal that the market is overheated and ready for a correction. On 14 July, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded positive flows for the eighth day in a row. They saw inflows of $297.4 million, significantly lower than $1.03 billion and $1.18 billion recorded on the two prior trading days. BlackRock saw the highest share of this amount, taking in $394.71 million. While Grayscale, Bitwise, and VanEck saw minnow inflows, Fidelity and Ark & 21Shares saw outflows. US ETH ETFs also saw inflows for the seventh day in a row, with $259.04 million on 14 July. This is higher than $204 million seen on Friday. Seven of the nine funds saw positive flows, while none saw outflows. BlackRock recorded the majority of this amount again: $151.45 million. Grayscale follows with $43.79 million.

Standard Chartered launched spot trading services for Bitcoin and Ether through its UK branch. “As client demand accelerates further, we want to offer clients a route to transact, trade and manage digital asset risk safely and efficiently within regulatory requirements,” said group chief executive Bill Winters. Moreover, Kazakhstan’s national bank plans to move part of its gold and foreign exchange reserves, along with National Fund assets, into digital asset-related investments. This move highlights the growing acceptance of digital assets by traditional financial institutions and governments.

Despite the pullback, analysts argue that there is still room for additional growth this year. The dip is both expected and typical following a significant market surge and new all-time highs. The crypto market has seen a decrease over the past 24 hours, while the US stock market closed on Monday with some uptick. For example, the S&P 500 is up by 0.14%, the Nasdaq-100 increased by 0.33%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.2%. The stocks went up as investors had some time to digest the latest tariff threats coming from the US. Additionally, they are awaiting earnings reports and economic data set to be published this week. The crypto market’s movement against stocks today highlights the divergence between the two markets and the unique factors influencing each.