As per Fortune Magazine, the cryptocurrency market has been experiencing significant volatility due to a sharp decline in Bitcoin (BTC) prices. This decline has had a domino effect on other cryptocurrencies and has raised concerns among investors. Bitcoin recently suffered a 14% drop from its all-time high (ATH) of $73,700, briefly touching $62,483 before recovering and stabilizing around $64,900. The decline can be attributed to record outflows of over $640 million from Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), while other spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of less than $500 million, resulting in a net outflow of $15 million.
The outflow from GBTC, combined with cautious sentiment surrounding the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in the US, has had a significant impact on Bitcoin’s performance. Investors exhibited caution ahead of the FOMC meeting as they closely monitored potential changes in interest rates. Higher-than-expected inflation data indicated by the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) dampened expectations of interest rate cuts. The CME FedWatch Tool projected a 99% likelihood of rates remaining unchanged, further affecting market sentiment.
In response to rising consumer prices, the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate from -0.1% to 0% to 0.1%. This was the first rate increase in 17 years.
The drop in Bitcoin’s price also had a cascading effect on other cryptocurrencies. Major altcoins like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) experienced significant declines of 8.1% and 12.5% respectively over the past 24 hours. Meme coins such as Floki Inu (FLOKI), Bonk Inu (Bonk), and Dogecoin (DOGE) also suffered losses during the past week.
These declines in cryptocurrency prices led to over $440 million worth of liquidations for traders of crypto futures. Traders who had leveraged positions betting on higher prices faced significant losses. Most of these liquidations occurred on Binance, totaling $212 million, followed by OKX at $170 million.
Despite the price correction, BTC still retains substantial gains of over 26% and 132% in the past thirty days and year-to-date timeframe respectively.
In conclusion, the cryptocurrency market has experienced significant volatility due to a sharp decline in Bitcoin prices. This decline has had a domino effect on other cryptocurrencies and has raised concerns among investors. The outflow from Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, combined with cautious sentiment surrounding the FOMC meeting in the US, has impacted Bitcoin’s performance. Other cryptocurrencies have also suffered declines as a result. Traders of crypto futures faced significant losses due to these price drops. However, despite the correction, Bitcoin still retains substantial gains over the long term.
Sources:
(https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/03/19/bitcoin-slumps-62000-gbtc-fed-rate-cut-waiting-game/)
– Bloomberg ETF expert James Seyffart:(https://x.com/JSeyff/status/1769946247438155909?s=20)
– TradingView.com: (https://www.tradingview.com/x/s9TU7X4K/)
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