The Daily Drip

✅ Top Takeaways

• BTC drifts under 70K ahead of data:Bitcoin slipped about 0.5% toward $69K as traders positioned for U.S. jobs numbers and CPI, with nomination chatter around Kevin Warsh keeping policy nerves high.
• ETH and majors still under pressure:Ether’s drop through $2,050 and broad altcoin weakness reflect continued ETF outflows and lingering damage from last week’s liquidation‑driven slide.
• Policy and plumbing in the spotlight:A second White House meeting on stablecoin yields and a $44B Bithumb error in Korea have pushed regulation, safeguards, and market structure back to the front page.

📰 Crypto Market Summary

Bitcoin traded between $68,000 and $72,000, slipping below $70,000 to around $69,200 for a 0.54% daily decline as investors stayed cautious ahead of Wednesday’s U.S. employment report and Friday’s CPI release. The nomination of Kevin Warsh, known for a hawkish stance on liquidity and balance‑sheet policy, has amplified concerns that future Fed decisions could pressure speculative assets.

Ether fell 3.27% to $2,035 after briefly dipping below $2,000, continuing to underperform Bitcoin since October’s sharp selloff. While Monday’s roughly $57 million inflow broke a three‑day outflow streak, cumulative ETH ETF redemptions of about $3.2 billion since launch remain a headwind and help explain the steeper drawdown in ETH versus BTC.

XRP slid 1.04% to $1.42 and Solana dropped 2.32% to $84.71 as altcoins showed technical weakness across most majors. Even so, XRP‑spot ETFs logged another $6.3 million in inflows on Monday, marking four straight days of net buying and lifting cumulative institutional inflows to roughly $1.23 billion.

Under the surface, last week’s plunge toward $60,000 for Bitcoin is still being framed as a liquidation‑driven event, with derivatives deleveraging and cross‑asset risk reduction doing more damage than any single crypto headline. Many desks now describe Bitcoin as trading inside a broader macro risk framework where central‑bank policy and global equity sentiment play a larger role than in past cycles.

🌍 Macro & Policy Lens

• Warsh nomination keeps markets on edge: President Trump’s choice of Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair candidate has been read as a signal toward tighter liquidity, with earlier headlines tying his nomination odds to double‑digit drawdowns in Bitcoin and other risk assets.
• Data week could reset expectations: Wednesday’s labor report and Friday’s CPI figures will shape how quickly markets price in 2026 rate‑cut paths, potentially influencing the balance between cash, bonds, and high‑beta assets like crypto.
• CLARITY Act talks move to the White House: A second closed‑door meeting on stablecoin yields is underway, as banks and crypto firms debate whether yield‑bearing products should be limited to avoid deposit flight from traditional institutions.

The near‑term question for markets is whether policy makers lean into a “higher for longer” stance that keeps pressure on speculative exposure, or outline a clearer glide path that could support risk taking later in the year.

💰 Flows & Market Structure

Aggregate crypto ETFs recorded about $208.2 million in net inflows yesterday, led by roughly $144.9 million into BTC funds and $57 million into ETH vehicles, while SOL remained flat and XRP products attracted about $6.3 million.

The S&P Cryptocurrency Broad Digital Asset Index rose 1.09% on the day but remains down 20.77% year‑to‑date, illustrating how recent inflows have slowed the slide rather than reversing the broader drawdown.

Desk commentary points to a split tape: long‑only and institutional accounts continue to average into ETF products, while levered traders in futures and perps keep trimming exposure until macro signals and policy outcomes look clearer.

📊 Sentiment Dashboard

Extreme fear persists even as ETFs show net inflows, a sign that sentiment has not yet caught up with recent stabilization in spot prices.

🔢 Market Performance

• Across the top 10, every major coin except USDT is negative year‑to‑date, reinforcing how broad the drawdown has been since late December.
• BTC and ETH both show double‑digit weekly and YTD losses, while large‑cap alts like SOL and BNB have experienced even steeper declines.
• Stablecoins continue to hold their pegs, helping keep liquidity and settlement rails functioning even as risk assets reprice around macro and policy uncertainties.

⚡ Risk & Market Lens

Markets remain sensitive to both policy signals and operational risks after a series of large liquidations and headline‑grabbing exchange incidents.

What to watch: whether upcoming U.S. data shifts expectations for a Warsh‑led Fed, how quickly derivatives positioning rebuilds after last week’s deleveraging, and how global regulators respond to the Bithumb incident as they reassess safeguards for large centralized platforms.

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Disclaimer

This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice, solicitation, or an endorsement of any strategy or asset. H2cryptO does not warrant data accuracy or completeness.

Crypto assets are highly volatile; always consult professional advisors, use caution, and comply with local laws before making strategic, financial, or investment decisions.