Crypto Recovery: What to Make of Today's Moves in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) are once again among the three most traded cryptocurrencies in focus for investors today, with trading volumes remaining very high following some rather incredible volatility over the past few days. As of 2:30 p.m. ET, Bitcoin and Dogecoin are currently lower by 1.8% and 3.5%, respectively, while Ethereum has surged 3.8% higher since 4 p.m. on Friday.

These moves mask some rather notable volatility over the past couple of days, with each of these three tokens seeing swings of more than 10% since Friday, as investors price in the impact of President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on risk assets. Significant volatility in the U.S. dollar has shaken a number of commodities and asset classes, with these top cryptos once again showing greater correlation to risk assets than safe haven assets, pushing back against the claim many crypto maximalists have made that this asset class may be considered a safe haven relative to other assets in times of turmoil.

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That said, today's divergence between Ethereum and other top megacap cryptos is worth diving into. Let's take a look at what's driving today's price action with the big three I follow on a daily basis.

Can Ethereum's outperformance continue?

Ethereum's one-week chart is really something to behold. Ending last month around $3,400, Ethereum dropped to around $2,400 per token after reports suggested that Trump would move forward with his planned Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. However, after stabilizing around this level, and additional reports over the weekend and Monday that tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be paused for one month, subsequent buying pressure sent this token surging alongside the broader market, with Bitcoin and Dogecoin also participating in the rally.

However, the key driver behind Ethereum's relative outperformance compared to most cryptocurrencies over the past two days has been intriguing rhetoric from Trump's son, Eric Trump. In a post on X, Eric Trump suggested to his followers that "it's a great time to add Ethereum," leading to a continuation of a recovery trade underpinning Ethereum, which saw this token break through the $2,900 level (with the token continuing to hover just below these levels at the time of writing).

Ethereum is of course the platform upon which the Trump family has launched its World Liberty Financial crypto platform, and to which Eric and others associated with the president have significant financial exposure. We'll have to see if more rhetoric comes from the Trump family on specific cryptocurrencies, but this outright endorsement of Ethereum is one that investors are clearly taking seriously today.

Crypto rally ahead?

All three major stock indexes have moved materially higher today, essentially fully making up for yesterday morning's widespread drop ahead of tariff pause announcements. And while Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin each have some ground to cover to make up for the incredible downside volatility over the past few days, there's once again upside momentum for these three tokens many investors are watching closely.

Bitcoin has been a focus of Donald Trump in the past, with previous announcements that the U.S. government is looking at setting up a strategic crypto reserve that would focus on Bitcoin (and to a lesser extent Ethereum), building on the existing crypto that has been appropriated by the government as part of previous enforcement actions. However, this outright endorsement of a non-Trump affiliated coin is one that will likely continue to drive outsize interest in Ethereum at least over the short term.

With crypto liquidations for all three tokens tilting heavily toward short derivatives positions in the market (liquidations refer to derivatives contracts that are unwound due to price action in the market), it's entirely possible this recent rally could have legs. For long-term investors, it's hard to determine what these near-term volatility-driven events could mean for valuations, but the idea that a buying opportunity is at hand could drive further buying activity this week.

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Chris MacDonald has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.