Why Are Cryptocurrencies Declining? Bitcoin Drops More Than 7.5% From Record High, Ether Drops Too.
The biggest cryptocurrency in the world, Bitcoin, dropped more than 2% on Monday, August 18, to hover around $115,000. As of 12:40 p.m., Bitcoin was down 2.2% at $115,451.51, according to CoinMarketCap. Its 24-hour trading volume was $59.96 billion, and its market capitalization was $2.29 trillion.
Because of this, Bitcoin has dropped more than 7.5% over the last four days from its peak of $124,457 on August 14, 2025.
The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, also saw a decline Monday, falling by about 3% to $4,349 over the previous day.
The decline follows Bitcoin’s August 14 record high of $124,457 and Ether’s recent ascent to within $100 of its November 2021 record high of $4,891.70. Strong institutional inflows, especially from digital-asset treasury firms, had supported both tokens in recent weeks.
Over the last two days, Bitcoin has experienced significant volatility, falling from levels above $123K to test lows close to $115K, according to CoinSwitch Markets Desk.
Persistent selling pressure caused prices to drop below $121K and $119K at the start of the fall. Despite a brief recovery toward $118,900, the rise was weak, and sellers soon took back control, causing the price to decline. Ethereum is currently trading close to the $4,300 mark after falling roughly 7% since Friday.
As early as this fall, Japan’s FSA is expected to authorize stablecoins denominated in yen, opening the door for the nation’s first fiat-backed digital currency to be created domestically. The exchange’s move into public markets is also indicated by Gemini’s filing with the U.S. SEC to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol GEMI, it noted.
Crypto markets are seeing short-term volatility despite long-term optimism, according to Himanshu Maradiya, founder and chairman of CIFDAQ. Amid rising U.S. inflation figures, trade concerns, and changing expectations for interest rate reduction, Bitcoin and Ethereum have retreated from recent highs.
Profit-taking close to resistance levels, liquidations totaling more than $600 million, and dwindling inflows into decentralized finance have all contributed to the drop. Ethereum has fallen behind Bitcoin as well, which increases the strain.
He noted that since excessive leverage is still in place, regulatory uncertainties and macroeconomic headwinds may keep causing volatility in the months to come.We are seeing a strategic shift towards altcoins with strong foundations and practical applications, according to Avinash Shekhar, co-founder and CEO of Pi42. This, in our opinion, indicates that the market is becoming more sophisticated and that players are seeing value in initiatives that support important infrastructure, such as decentralized data services, rather than merely Bitcoin’s hegemony.
The larger ecosystem of digital assets benefits from this difference in momentum. According to him, it implies that capital allocation is growing increasingly discriminating and motivated by factors such as network strength, utility, and adoption in addition to price speculation.
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