- Bitcoin dropped to $64,000 amid a global tech stock sell-off and increased market volatility.
- Ethereum also fell significantly, with the broader crypto market cap declining as investors shifted towards safer assets.
Market Volatility Takes a Toll on Cryptocurrencies
On Thursday, the cryptocurrency markets experienced a significant downturn as a global sell-off in tech stocks triggered a shift towards safer assets. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell to multi-week lows, with the S&P breaking a notable streak of more than 2% daily declines. This market volatility has led to a sharp drop in the U.S. dollar, which fell 0.7% to 152.78 yen.
At 11:58 am IST, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 2.7% lower at $64,114. Ethereum (ETH) also saw a steep decline, falling 7.8% to $3,175. The global cryptocurrency market cap dropped by 3.55% to approximately $2.31 trillion in the past 24 hours.
Edul, CEO of Mudrex, attributed Bitcoin’s fall to the broader tech stock slump, driven by disappointing earnings from major companies like Alphabet and Tesla. He also highlighted the ongoing selling pressure from Mt. Gox creditors, which continues to impact the market. The next key support levels for Bitcoin are at $63,200 and $62,500, with resistance at $65,500.
CoinSwitch Markets Desk noted that the decline in Bitcoin is part of a larger trend, with significant drops in U.S. tech stocks contributing to the downturn. They also pointed to the recent launch of the Ethereum ETF as a factor in the crypto market’s struggles. The outflows from Grayscale have intensified pressure on Ethereum, causing it to break below the crucial $3,300 support level. If Ethereum’s ETF follows the trading patterns of Bitcoin ETFs, ETH might drop below $3,000 before potentially rebounding towards $5,000.
Other notable altcoins also suffered losses, including Solana (-1.3%), Dogecoin (-5.3%), Toncoin (-4.3%), Cardano (-3%), Avalanche (-4.6%), Shiba Inu (-4.5%), Polkadot (-3.9%), and Chainlink (-4.6%).
Currently, the volume of all stablecoins stands at $75.32 billion, representing 91.82% of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. Bitcoin’s dominance is at 54.84%, with BTC volume in the last 24 hours increasing by 1% to $34 billion. Additionally, an aggregate of $5.5 billion in Bitcoin options is set to expire early on July 26th, a crucial event given the current downward pressure from multiple sources, including the Mt. Gox bankruptcy proceedings, a 50,000 BTC sale by the German government, and the disposal of 14,000 BTC by the failed Genesis Trading firm.
Despite a recent correction of nearly 27% from its highs, Bitcoin managed to hold above the crucial support level of $52,000 and started consolidating between $56,500 and $59,700. It then broke above the psychological resistance of $60,000, rallying up to $68,474. With strong resistance at $70,000 and $73,777, Bitcoin’s price movement remains closely watched. Current trading levels are around $64,000, with $66,000 and $60,000 serving as critical support levels.
