Bitcoin Tumbles to $53K, Ether Turns Negative for 2024 as Panic Grips Markets
Bitcoin eyes $58K CME gap next as 8% BTC price rout sees longs 'rekt
Bitcoin’s price plummeted to its lowest in over five months on Monday, mirroring a broader decline in financial markets due to increasing concerns of a U.S. economic slowdown, which dampened risk appetite.
Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin fell 12% to $51,995.0 by 02:13 ET (06:13 GMT). This marked its weakest level since late February, nearly erasing gains from the rally initiated by the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in March.
Bitcoin Falls in Sync with Equity Market Declines
The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped alongside significant losses in equity markets since Friday. Weak economic data from the U.S. heightened fears of a potential recession, causing Wall Street indexes to tumble on Friday and Asian markets to suffer steep losses on Monday, with Japanese stocks entering a bear market just three weeks after hitting record highs.
Bitcoin, along with the broader crypto market, was particularly affected by the risk-off sentiment due to its speculative nature.
Even heightened expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts failed to curb Bitcoin’s decline, as traders preferred the safety of the Japanese yen and gold.
Bitcoin Suffers Deeper Losses Against the Japanese Yen
The cryptocurrency was already experiencing sharp declines over the past week after reports suggested the U.S. government was mobilizing about $2 billion worth of tokens, indicating a potential sale.
Lower trading volumes in the crypto derivatives market, especially in U.S. ETFs, offered little support to Bitcoin.
Uncertainty surrounding U.S. regulatory outlook also weighed on the crypto market, exacerbated by recent Bloomberg polling data showing Democratic frontrunner Kamala Harris gaining on Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Crypto Market Today: Ether Hits December Lows
The broader crypto market also suffered from the risk-off sentiment. Ether, the second-largest token, plunged 21.5% to $2,239.13, its weakest level since December.
This drop erased all gains from recent speculation over spot Ether ETFs, whose launch last week failed to support the market.
Other major cryptocurrencies like XRP, SOL, and ADA fell over 17% each, while meme tokens DOGE and SHIB dropped around 18% each.
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