A divergence appears to be building, at least in Monday's price action, between certain top cryptocurrencies and the broader equity market. While most risk assets declined in morning trading Monday in response to surging oil prices and an escalating conflict in the Middle East, equities recovered during the afternoon, with crypto assets underperforming.

As of 3 p.m. ET, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), and Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO: BCH) had declined 3.3%, 3.6%, and 5.1%, respectively, over the prior 24 hours. 

Ethereum's decline appeared to have been driven by more than just macroeconomic factors. News that the Ethereum Foundation (which supports development and innovation on the Ethereum blockchain) had swapped $2.7 million worth of Ethereum for stablecoin USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) on Monday sent the token lower. While swaps like this have been seen in the past, and are used by the Ethereum Foundation as a way to cover costs, sell-offs typically follow such transactions. This was the case once again on Monday. 

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Source Fool.com