Bitcoin leads others in an unexpected downturn
- Bitcoin is trading below $42k for the first time in almost three weeks
- Altcoins led by Ether have shed some of the gains from the rally at the end of March
A sharp fall in the prices of the majority of the top cryptocurrencies on Monday has pushed the total crypto market capital below $2 trillion. The dip, which started late yesterday, continued overnight and has been the theme throughout the day.
Red is the order of the day
The market leader, Bitcoin, glided under $42,0oo earlier today and was last observed trading at $41,030. These figures reflect a downward movement of 3.7% on the day and 10.85% over the week. Market data shows BTC/USD hasn’t retouched the current level since March 22. Ether price has moved down 6.25% in the last 24 hours and the token appears likely to fall below $3,000, having relinquished support above $3,080.
Most of the other tokens in the top ten have posted bigger red candles. Ripple’s XRP has fallen 6.59% on the day, while Terra (LUNA) has retreated 6.37%. Meanwhile, Solana and Cardano native tokens have slid 7.82% and 8.34%, respectively.
Tenth-ranked Avalanche (AVAX) has posted the biggest loss with a 9.46% descent on the day. The AVAX/USD 7-day trading chart shows that the token has shed 20% since last week. Overall, almost $230 billion has been wiped away from the crypto market. CoinMarketCap data shows that the total market capital fell from almost $2.10 trillion to $1.870 trillion at the time of writing.
Macro risks are at the core of it
Many anticipated that this year’s Bitcoin Conference would provide bullish news and updates that would propel Bitcoin to new heights as the previous edition did. That, however, hasn’t been the case.
Notably, yesterday’s news of the Luna Foundation Guard making a $170 million Bitcoin purchase also did little to boost the price of Bitcoin. This contrasts with the typical rally that has historically followed large Bitcoin purchases.
Market experts have drawn an explanation for why these bullish factors have been trumped over by bearish sentiment. Macro uncertainties and dollar strength (US dollar index, DXY) have been cited as the leading drivers of the latest pullback.
