The cryptocurrency market is going through a tough time in the last 24 hours, with most coins trading in the red.
Bitcoin’s value has dropped below $61,000 in the past 24 hours, resulting in significant losses for most altcoins. BTC continued to hold its position within the $63,000 range during the week. The cryptocurrency experienced a sudden drop to $60,000 yesterday. Furthermore, volatility has resulted in more than $200 million of liquidated positions, possibly as a reaction to a statement issued in New Orleans by a US Federal Reserve representative.
Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan noted that it may be “too early to think about cutting interest rates.” She added the need for “some of these uncertainties about the path we are following to be resolved,” pointing out that “we must remain very flexible.”
Obviously, the market did not take this well and all the charts are now painted red.
Altcoins in Blood Bath
In the past 25 hours, BTC is trading at $60,800, down 3.5%. ETH was down 4.1%, SOL was down 6%. DOT was also down almost 6%. Many other coins like BCH, AVAX and UNI experience similar losses. Although prices have stabilized in recent hours, market analysts are watching the action closely to determine if the bears are easing or planning another attack.
Theta Network (THETA) and THORChain (RUNE) lost the most in the last 24 hours, with 10.8% and 9.2% respectively. On the other hand, Cheelee (CHEEL) and Akash Network (AKT) were able to rise around 3% over the same period.
Bitcoin: Strategic Moves
Based on the changes in the price of BTC, there have been significant changes in behavior among traders.
Axel Adler Jr, an analyst at social media platform X platform (formerly Twitter), using data from CryptoQuant, has observed that leveraged traders on perpetual trading platforms like Binance [BNB] are increasingly closing out their positions.
This trend was highlighted by a -20% monthly change in open interest, indicating a cautious approach with more traders opting to close positions to wait and see how prices develop.
Adler suggested that this contraction in open positions reflected a strategic and cautiously optimistic stance on the part of traders who are not exiting the market but are waiting for clearer signals.
Adler believes that “the market needs this negativity for short positions to accumulate, which could then be used to push upwards.”
On the other hand, AMBCrypto’s analysis of Bitcoin market sentiment showed that while the king coin was bearish on the daily chart, there could be a short-term bullish move to around the $65,000 level first.
This potential rally could be a strategic play by the market to draw liquidity to higher levels ahead of a more significant slowdown, possibly below the $56,000 region.
Bitcoin Miners Under Selling Pressure
According to recent data, there were clear signs that miners are currently facing the most challenging conditions they have encountered since March 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis. This pressure is evident in the hashrate drop, which has led to the network suffering its fourth negative difficulty adjustment of the year.
The latest adjustment, at -5.6%, marks the largest negative change since November 2022, following the collapse of the FTX. If the outlook continues to worsen, miners will be forced to sell their BTC holdings to remain profitable.
By Audy Castaneda
