The cryptocurrency market extended its losses on Tuesday following a minor weekend rally that had sought to push Bitcoin back to record highs, and some analysts are divided on what’s next.

Bitcoin’s uplift had coincided with developments over a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union. Even so, the asset shed 2 on Monday, dropping from a peak of $119,784. 

The world‘s largest crypto has remained within a range of $115,000 to $119,900 for 11 consecutive days.

However, Steve Gregory, founder of crypto trading platform Vtrader, told Decrypt that he is expecting prices to continue rising, despite the uncertainty marked by muted price swings.

“I think the next leg up takes us to $139,000," he said.

Ethereum, meanwhile, is showcasing significant strength as it approaches the vaunted $4,000 price tag for the fourth time. 

With over $71 billion in open interest—a sum of all open positions on outstanding contracts across global perpetual futures—Ethereum significantly outpaces Bitcoin‘s $37 billion. Additionally, the second-largest token also leads in the global perpetual 24-hour volume. 

It is a clear indicator that the spotlight is currently on Ethereum.

“Structurally, Ethereum looks healthy.” Shashank Sripada, COO & Co-founder of GAIA, told Decrypt. But he cautioned that the token “lacks a near-term catalyst beyond ETF flows.”

The setup for Ethereum appears to be “different this time,” Sripada said, adding he expects a retest of “$4,500–$4,800” if the token clears “$4,000 with volume.”

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs have posted 16 straight days of net inflows, totaling more than $5 billion, according to data from SoSoValue.

Analysts who spoke to Decrypt previously expect a new high in the next six to 12 months.

Vtrader’s Gregory also remains bullish on Ethereum, highlighting that most of the token’s gains have come in the past six weeks. He expects a “swift and powerful” uptrend to push it to “all-time highs in the next few weeks.”

Altcoin appetite

“Accumulation driven by both institutional whales and corporate treasury firms‘ appetite for the asset” is driving this shift in institutional perception, Shawn Young, chief analyst of MEXC Research, told Decrypt.

While the current cycle has largely been focused on institutional adoption of Bitcoin and Ethereum, Gregory believes there is a growing appetite for altcoins.

"Retail interest in Solana and XRP is basically the only tangible altcoin gains we‘ve seen." He expects both these top altcoins to continue their uptrend, but notes that the “narrative is much stronger with XRP.”

While the GENIUS Act helped bring regulatory clarity to stablecoins, the upcoming CLARITY Act could eliminate the ambiguity surrounding XRP and potentially open the door for broader tokenization strategies for Ripple.

Upcoming data releases, particularly the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), are key events to watch. Gregory, however, views it as less “impactful than the M2 money supply,” which now sits at record highs.

Young, on the other hand, believes that softer inflation data or dovish language from the Federal Reserve could trigger a broader risk-on shift, potentially pushing Ethereum past $4,100 towards $4,500.

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