Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP Tumble. What’s Driving Today’s Crypto Slump.
September 22, 2025
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were plummeting on Monday, as digital-asset investors unwound some bullish bets made after last week’s Federal Reserve interest-rate cut.
The world’s largest token was down 2.5% to $112,816 over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinDesk. It’s now trading about 10% off the record high it hit last month.
Other cryptos were slumping, too. Ethereum dropped 6.1%, Solana tumbled 7.2%, and XRP fell 6% over the past 24 hours, per data from the Kraken crypto exchange.
The selloff likely reflects a buildup of excess leverage in the aftermath of Thursday’s Fed decision, Kaiko head of research Adam Morgan McCarthy told Barron’s.
“Funding rates seem to have risen since last week’s Fed meeting, suggesting some speculation occurred after the cut,” he said.
“There was excess leverage from those speculative bets and the slight decline earlier triggered some liquidations that had a cascading effect,” he added.
The Fed cut rates by a quarter point on Thursday, which was the first time it had lowered borrowing costs in 2025. But Chair Jerome Powell labeled the decision a “risk-management cut,” suggesting the central bank will move cautiously rather than aggressively easing monetary policy.
Crypto stocks also looked set to get dented by Monday’s selloff. Bitcoin investor Strategy dropped and digital-asset exchange Coinbase Global were both down 2.8% ahead of the U.S. opening bell. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 were 0.2% lower.
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
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