Crypto Price News For March 21: Market Pulls Back From Previous Gains

The crypto market faced a downturn today after failing to sustain its bullish momentum from yesterday. Investors had high hopes for potential announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump at the Digital Asset Summit 2025, but with no new crypto policies revealed, the market experienced a sell-off.

According to CoinMarketCap, the global cryptocurrency market cap has dropped by 1.98%, settling at $2.75 trillion. Market volume also declined significantly by 28.39%, falling to $75.32 billion. The CMC 100 Index reflected this trend, dropping 2.07% in the last 24 hours.

Driving Market Forces

A significant factor contributing to the market's decline was U.S. President Donald Trump's appearance at the Digital Asset Summit 2025. Many had hoped for new policy announcements or executive orders related to cryptocurrency, particularly addressing issues like debanking or crypto taxation. However, Trump’s speech was largely a reiteration of his previous pro-crypto stance, with no new policies or proclamations made, leaving investors disappointed.

The absence of fresh developments led to a loss of bullish momentum, with the market struggling to maintain the positive sentiment it had earlier in the week. As a result, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped significantly to 27, indicating growing market fear and uncertainty among investors.

Bitcoin had surged to a new high, breaking above the 200-day moving average and hitting $86,500, but faced rejection at this key resistance level, ultimately falling back below $85,000. Altcoins followed Bitcoin’s lead, with most of them experiencing declines.

Top Gainers

Despite the broader market dip, a few cryptocurrencies managed to post gains:

• Berachain (BERA): +3.82%
• Celestia (TIA): +2.89%
• Toncoin (TON): +2.03%
• OKB (OKB): +1.46%

Berachain (BERA) led the gainers, climbing 3.82%, likely fueled by increasing interest in its innovative blockchain architecture, and Celestia (TIA) followed with a 2.89% growth. Toncoin (TON) and OKB (OKB) also saw slight increases, up 2.03% and 1.46%, respectively.

Top Losers

Still, most of the major cryptocurrencies declined:

• Pi (PI): -24.04%
• Sui (SUI): -5.36%
• Solana (SOL): -4.65%
• Dogecoin (DOGE): -3.75%
• Chainlink (LINK): -3.54%
• XRP (XRP): -2.72%
• Cardano (ADA): -2.49%
• Bitcoin (BTC): -2.40%
• Avalanche (AVAX): -2.28%
• Ethereum (ETH): -1.87%

Pi (PI) saw the biggest drop, plummeting by 24.04%, likely due to heavy sell pressure after recent gains. Sui (SUI) and Solana (SOL) also faced significant declines, dropping 5.36% and 4.65%, respectively, as investors took profits off the table.

Dogecoin (DOGE) and Chainlink (LINK) lost 3.75% and 3.54%, while XRP (XRP) dropped 2.72%, pulling back from its recent bullish rally.

Cardano (ADA) followed with a 2.49% loss, continuing the downtrend. Bitcoin (BTC) also declined by 2.40% after failing to maintain momentum above the critical $86,500 resistance level. Avalanche (AVAX) also struggled, falling by 2.28%, while Ethereum (ETH) saw a 1.87% decrease, reflecting the broader market's pullback.

While today’s downturn was fueled by unmet expectations from Trump’s speech, the long-term bullish outlook for crypto remains intact. With the Federal Reserve expected to cut interest rates later this year and increasing institutional adoption, traders remain optimistic about future growth.

For now, the market remains in a consolidation phase, with Bitcoin needing to reclaim $86K to resume its upward momentum. The coming days will be crucial in determining whether the market can regain strength or if further corrections are on the horizon.