Ether ETH led major tokens with a modest gain, jumping above $2,700 early Thursday as broader crypto markets remained range-bound despite a flurry of macro and corporate headlines.
Ether-based spot ETFs recorded net inflows, reinforcing institutional appetite for the asset even as bitcoin BTC flows slowed, traders said.
XRP’s price remained largely unchanged after Nasdaq-listed VivoPower announced a $121 million allocation toward building an XRP-based treasury reserve — echoing a bitcoin-based strategy made famous by Strategy (MSTR) and Metaplanet.
“While US stocks rose after a federal court blocked Trump’s tariffs, Bitcoin slumped after the Fed decided to hold interest rates,” said Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, in a Telegram message to CoinDesk.
“These signals could indicate investors remain positive in the long term but are taking risk off from Bitcoin in the short term,” Ruck added.
Meanwhile, bitcoin lost the $108,000 level with overall market capitalization dipping 2.5%. Major tokens cardano’s ADA ADA, BNB Chain’s BNB BNB, dogecoin DOGE and Solana’s SOL SOL were little changed in the past 24 hours.
Outside of the top ten, toncoin TON fell in early Asian hours after a more than 20% surge the day before on reports of a partnership with Elon Musk’s xAI to integrate the Grok AI service within its app.
Musk later said on X that “no deal has been signed,” to which Toncoin’s Pavel Durov said it was agreed in principle but had formalities pending.
Traders enter goldilocks zone
As such, some traders say markets are now entering what some are calling a “Goldilocks zone,” where data remains stable, major risks have been absorbed, and catalysts are pending.
“Volatility across most asset classes has collapsed,” wrote QCP Capital in a note Tuesday, citing retreating yields on U.S. and Japanese long-dated bonds.
“We now find ourselves in a Goldilocks zone: recent data prints remain largely unaffected by the tariff policy introduced last month,” it said. “It will take time for companies and consumers to adjust pricing and spending patterns. Only in Q3 are we likely to see these dynamics reflected in the numbers.”
Yields on 10- and 30-year Treasuries dropped below 4.5% and 5%, respectively, while Japan’s 30-year JGB yield fell under 3%, the firm minted. Despite historic debt levels, the near-term fiscal panic appears to have cooled.