Why Are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Prices Still Rangebound? Experts Weigh In

Bitcoin, Ethereum, $XRP, and Solana edged up on Wednesday, largely shaking off a jolt from the U.S. reentering negotiations with several of its foreign trading partners. But despite the tepidly good news, analysts say the assets remain rangebound.

Bitcoin, for instance, has largely traded between $107,000 and $110,000 over the last several weeks, up a modest 1.5% over the last 30 days, but still within striking distance of its all-time high. Ethereum has traded sideways over the last month at around the $2,500 price mark while Solana has been flat near $150 for the same period.

But trading data over the last 24 hours suggests optimism from traders and investors. BTC, the largest token by market capitalization was changing hands at $109,659 as of Wednesday morning New York time, up 0.7% over the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows.

Meanwhile, altcoins Ethereum, Solana, and $XRP have all gained between 2% and 4% over the past day. And although the total cryptocurrency market has contracted by 3% in the past day—currently valued at $3.45 trillion, it has still marked a 35% gain since early April.

The recent uptick in cryptocurrency prices strikes a contrast with digital assets’ downward spiral in April, when U.S. President Donald Trump first unveiled his “retaliatory tariffs.” But while some traders are expressing confusion over the crypto market’s resilience to Trump’s latest tariff threats, analysts say they shouldn’t. 

Investors have proven less reactive to the U.S.’ thrice-postponed trade negotiation deadlines and more proactive about hedging against macroeconomic uncertainties in recent months, allowing digital asset prices to remain elevated even as macroeconomic uncertainties flare, according to the analysts who spoke to Decrypt. 

Traders tough Out trade talks 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday sent letters to 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea and Thailand, informing them of his plan to impose aggressive tariffs. The proposed trade-tax rates, which range from 25% to 40%, will go into effect on August 1—barring a deadline extension.

The announcement has rattled officials representing several U.S. trading partners, but crypto investors seem largely unfazed.

Bret Kenwell, an investment and options analyst at eToro, told Decrypt traders seem confident that Trump will extend the August 1 deadline for the negotiations, rather than enact the punishing tariffs. In fact, it’s become a meme (and meme coin) to jeer that Trump Always Chickens Out.

“If there is confidence that negotiations will continue or deadlines will be extended, markets may continue to shake off the headlines,” Kenwell added.

He said any pullbacks in cryptocurrency prices “will likely be viewed as a buying opportunity by investors,” which could help push prices back to within their current range.

In addition, crypto traders have already witnessed several bouts of uncertainty amid Trump’s on-and-off trade negotiations, giving them more conviction and confidence to hold their assets through major macroeconomic events.

“Traders have now seen a full recovery in risk assets, undermining the fears from tariff shocks,” Greg Magadini, Director of Derivatives at Amberdata, told Decrypt. 

Meanwhile, investors are also hedging against macroeconomic uncertainties such as the U.S.’ tariff negotiations, particularly through options trading, according to Magadini.

Options are contracts that allow investors to purchase the right to buy or sell a particular asset at a predetermined price, without obligating the trader to do so.

For the past seven months, institutional investors have been turning toward options for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, or IBIT, the largest Bitcoin ETF by total inflows. Magadini said investors have been hedging their investments by buying IBIT, selling the covered call for income, and then buying the protective put to mitigate risks.

He also noted that the broader cryptocurrency market has become less susceptible to dramatic swings sparked by panic sellers as it has grown larger under President Trump. That’s because the larger the market, the more trading volume is required to move it.