WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Sentiment in the cryptocurrency market, which of late appeared firmly tethered to the vagaries of the global AI trade has again renewed its tryst with monetary policy, interest rates and inflation combat. An unabated spike in crude oil prices triggered by the disruptions to oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz as well as the Red Sea are forcing cryptocurrencies to diverge from the price trajectory of chip makers and memory stocks.
The massive spike in crude oil prices has stoked fresh flare-up in inflation expectations and fears of higher interest rates. With crude oil prices climbing to a six-week high, Bitcoin has retreated from the five-week high of $66,910 recorded a day earlier and is currently trading near $66,000.
Though hopes of progress in the passage of the CLARITY Act and expectations of positive regulatory momentum in the U.S. had boosted sentiment in the cryptocurrency markets a day earlier, overall cryptocurrency market capitalization has declined half percent in the past 24 hours. Strong inflows to U.S.-listed Bitcoin Spot ETF products on Tuesday also did not suffice to lift market sentiment.
Nevertheless, crypto markets continue to expect the CLARITY Act, or the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, which was stalled due to dispute surrounding an ethics clause, to make further progress. Markets also digested reports of Bitcoin Treasury company Satsuma Technologies' shareholders approving bitcoin treasury liquidation and London delisting.
A recent working paper written by members of the Monetary and Economic Department of the Bank for International Settlements also caught the market's attention. According to the document, the emergence of stablecoins has created a new channel to access U.S. dollar liquidity in emerging market and developing economies, that has raised concerns about the possible implications for monetary control.
The working paper titled 'Dollarisation and monetary control: what lessons for the rise of stablecoins?' warns that stablecoin flows seem to be largely unaffected by either broad or specific capital flow restrictions. According to the authors, FX-related restrictions including prudential regulation and capital controls appear to have little effect on stablecoin dollarisation. They also note that specific restrictions on stablecoin use between residents and non-residents also do not seem to have a statistically significant effect on gross stablecoin inflows.
The research findings assume significance as stablecoin usage grows in established as well as emerging economies. Currently $312 billion or 13.9 percent of the overall crypto market capitalization is attributed to stablecoins. Of the top 10 cryptocurrencies, 2 are stablecoins. Tether (USDT), the highest-ranked stablecoin currently enjoys a crypto market dominance of 8.2 percent and is ranked third among all cryptocurrencies.
Amidst market sentiment swayed by geopolitics and corporate earnings, aggregate crypto market capitalization has declined 0.69 percent in the past 24 hours to $2.24 trillion. Around 20 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are trading with overnight gains of more than a percent whereas more than 35 are trading with overnight losses of 1 percent or more. The decline in overall crypto market capitalization was also accompanied by a 2-percent dip in trading volumes.
Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency is trading 0.18 percent lower at $66,008.36. The current price is around 48 percent below the all-time high of $126,198.07 recorded on October 7, 2025. The original cryptocurrency's year-to-date losses stand at 24.6 percent.
Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S. witnessed net inflows of $203 million on Tuesday versus $227 million on Monday. iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF topped with net inflows of $164 million.
Bitcoin is continuing in the 14th position in the global ranking of all assets as per market capitalization published by companiesmarketcap.com. The leading cryptocurrency is ranked between Tesla in the 13th position and Samsung in the 15th position.
Ethereum (ETH) is trading 0.11 percent lower at $1,928.13. The leading alternate coin is trading 61 percent below the all-time-high of $4,953.73 recorded on August 25, 2025. The 24-hour trading ranged between $1,943.74 and $1,909.61. Ethereum is still grappling with year-to-date losses of more than 35 percent.
Ethereum Spot ETF products in the U.S. witnessed steady net inflows of $38 million on Tuesday and Monday versus net inflows of $37 million on Friday. iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) topped with net inflows of $53 million.
Ethereum has slipped 3 notches to the 85th position in the global ranking of all assets as per market capitalization published by companiesmarketcap.com.
4th ranked BNB (BNB) slipped 1.1 percent overnight resulting in price decreasing to $570.54. BNB is trading 58 percent below the all-time high of $1,370.55 touched on October 13, 2025.
6th ranked XRP (XRP), a payments-focused cryptocurrency rallied 0.61 percent overnight and is currently trading at $1.13, around 70 percent below the all-time high of $3.84 touched on January 4, 2018.
The price of 7th ranked Solana (SOL) decreased 0.65 percent overnight to $77.63. SOL's current price is around 74 percent below its all-time-high of $294.33 recorded on January 19, 2025.
TRON (TRX) ranked 8th overall gained 0.93 percent overnight and is currently changing hands at $0.3300. The trading price is 25 percent below the cryptocurrency's all-time high of $0.4407 recorded on December 4, 2024.
9th ranked Hyperliquid (HYPE) plunged 5.5 percent overnight, to trade at $59.10, around 23 percent below the all-time high of $76.85 recorded on June 16.
Memecoin Dogecoin (DOGE) ranked 10th overall lost 1.1 percent overnight and is currently trading at $0.0727. DOGE is trading 90 percent below the peak price of $0.7376 recorded on May 8, 2021.
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