Today, the crypto market has taken a nosedive, and here's an in-depth look at what's happening:
The market decline reflects a broader sell-off in traditional markets, influenced by a surge in geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. So, while traditional markets fell, cryptocurrencies did not fail to join in the fall.
During the afternoon in the United States, Bitcoin fell below the $66,000 mark, after almost touching $71,000 a few hours earlier.
At press time, Bitcoin had claw it comes to exactly $69,934, a 5% drop in the last 24 hours alone. Not far behind, Ethereum saw a dramatic 12% decline to $3,100 before paring some losses to $3,230 at the time of writing.
The slowdown was not a slight slide but rather a free fall. Futures market data highlighted a brutal session for traders using leverage. More than $400 million in leveraged positions were liquidated in just one hour.
Traders on Binance were hit the hardest, with liquidations totaling $171 million, while their counterparts on the OKX exchange saw $158 million wiped out. The total damage to the market over the last 24 hours? A whopping $860 million spread among 270,993 traders, according to Change machine.
This market drop coincided with a decline in US stock markets, in response to new inflation data showing a third consecutive month of acceleration. This higher-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading dampened any remaining optimism about short-term interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, throwing a wet blanket over hopes that the inflation was about to be brought under control.
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Amidst this catastrophe, Bitcoin managed to increase its market dominance to almost 56%, reaching a high for this market cycle. This means that even if markets collapse, Bitcoin somehow finds a way to strengthen its position as the crypto king.
Looking ahead, the crypto community has its eyes on the next halving event scheduled for April 21. Historical trends and expert opinions, including the thoughts of Arthur Hayes, suggest the event could trigger several more price corrections.
With all of these factors at play, current market movements are a puzzle of investor sentiment, economic indicators, and upcoming major crypto events.
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