Why is Crypto Crashing Today? XRP Drops Below $3, Bitcoin and Ethereum Near Danger Levels

The global crypto market has seen a slight pullback in the past 24 hours, with the total market cap dropping to $3.82 trillion, down about 1.03%. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is trading around $113,602, down 1.15% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum also faced selling pressure, slipping 1.43% to trade at $4,156. Still, ETH remains up over 10% in the last week..

This dip comes as traders cut risk exposure ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on August 23. On-chain data revealed that nearly 12,000 $BTC were transferred to exchanges, suggesting profit-taking near recent all-time highs. Large inflows of Bitcoin to exchanges are often viewed as a signal that whales may be preparing to sell.

The biggest question in the crypto market right now is whether the rally for Bitcoin and altcoins has already peaked

Altcoins Under Pressure

Altcoins mirrored the broader market decline. XRP dropped 3.28% to $2.89, marking one of the sharper declines among top tokens. Solana (SOL) also slipped 1.45% to $180.81, while Dogecoin (DOGE) was down 1.81%, trading at $0.21.

Cardano (ADA) was hit harder than most, sliding nearly 6% to $0.84, one of the steepest daily losses in the top 10. Other altcoins such as Stellar (XLM) and Sui (SUI) also lost over 1.5% each in the same period.

Technical Rejection at $116.8K

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe said that Bitcoin failed to break above the $116.8K resistance level. He wrote, “It is quite clear we have a strong market, but $BTC did reject its first test. It could not break through $116.8K, which signals that we are in for new lows in the short term.”

Buying the Dip?

Despite the correction, van de Poppe stressed that this pullback offers opportunities for accumulation. He said that Ethereum’s sharp decline is entering favorable zones for long-term investors. Altcoins such as Chainlink (LINK), once considered undervalued at $6, could present another opportunity for accumulation.