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Bitcoin got hammered today. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency dropped below $63,000 for the first time since that nasty February 6 crash, and things aren’t looking pretty for the broader crypto space either.
The selloff didn’t happen overnight – Bitcoin’s been struggling since it got rejected above $70,000 last week. After that rejection, the digital asset basically went sideways, bouncing between $67,000 and $68,500 for several days before sliding to $65,600 on Thursday. Weekend trading brought some relief, but that didn’t last long. When legacy futures markets opened late Sunday, Bitcoin took another beating, plunging from $67,700 to $64,400 in just over an hour. A brief rally pushed it back to $66,500, but sellers stepped in again and drove the price below $63,000.
Bitcoin’s market cap now sits at roughly $1.260 trillion. Its dominance over other cryptocurrencies fell below 56%.
Ethereum’s having its own problems, dropping 5% to just above $1,800. The second-largest cryptocurrency can’t seem to catch a break as selling pressure mounts across the board. Other major altcoins like XRP, BNB, SOL, and TRX are all deep in the red too. Bitcoin Cash got hit particularly hard, tumbling over 11% to below $485. ZEC, RAIN, and UNI are also getting crushed in today’s selloff.
But there’s one bright spot in all the carnage.
PIPPIN bucked the trend completely, surging to a new all-time high of $0.80 with an 11.5% gain on the day. Sometimes the market just doesn’t make sense.
The broader cryptocurrency market lost more than $150 billion in value since Sunday, bringing the total market cap down to $2.260 trillion. That’s a massive chunk of wealth that just evaporated, and traders are pretty nervous about what comes next. The regulatory environment isn’t helping matters either. On February 21, the US Securities and Exchange Commission ramped up its scrutiny of digital assets, and that move probably contributed to the swift selloff we’re seeing across crypto markets.
Institutional players are feeling the heat too. Grayscale Investments, which runs the massive Bitcoin Trust, saw its assets under management drop by nearly $3 billion compared to the previous week as of February 23. That’s a clear reflection of how the broader market decline is hitting even the big institutional products. This follows earlier reporting on Bitcoin Drops Below ,500 as Altcoins.
Some investors are running for cover in stablecoins. Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) both saw trading volumes spike as traders moved their money into less volatile assets. Can’t really blame them – when Bitcoin’s swinging this wildly, stablecoins start looking pretty attractive.
Not everyone’s panicking though. JPMorgan put out a report on February 24 saying Bitcoin’s current price levels might actually attract new institutional buyers who see the dip as a good entry point. But the market’s still on edge, waiting for clearer signals about where things are headed next.
Coinbase reported a surge in withdrawal requests on February 23, with users moving serious amounts of digital assets off the platform. Bitcoin accounted for most of those withdrawals, which shows retail investors are getting nervous and moving their coins to private wallets. Meanwhile, Binance had a temporary outage on February 24 because of all the increased trading activity. CEO Changpeng Zhao jumped on Twitter to reassure users that they’re scaling their systems to handle the peak demand.
MicroStrategy’s still holding strong though. CEO Michael Saylor reaffirmed their commitment to Bitcoin during an investor call on February 22, saying the current market conditions won’t change their long-term strategy. The company views Bitcoin as a long-term asset, and they’re not budging from that position despite the recent volatility.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw Bitcoin futures trading volumes jump over the past week. Open interest spiked significantly as of February 24, which means traders are still actively engaged despite the price drops. They’re probably trying to capitalize on all these short-term price swings. For more details, see XRP Markets See Institutional Buying as.
BlockFi announced stricter collateral requirements for borrowers on February 23 to protect against further downside risk. Kraken reported more margin calls among users as Bitcoin fell below critical support levels, leading to forced liquidations that added more downward pressure on prices.
The DeFi sector’s seeing some interesting activity though. Aave reported its total value locked increased 7% over the past week to $15 billion as of February 24, as investors look for alternative ways to generate yield during this market downturn.
The Bitcoin Mining Council released a statement on February 23 about the importance of transparency in mining operations. They think better communication about energy usage and mining practices could help calm investor concerns during stressful market periods like this one.
The Federal Reserve’s recent hawkish stance on interest rates has added another layer of pressure to risk assets like Bitcoin. Higher rates make traditional investments more attractive compared to speculative crypto holdings, and many analysts see this as a key driver behind the current selloff.
Several major crypto hedge funds have reportedly reduced their Bitcoin exposure over the past month. Three Arrows Capital and Alameda Research both cut their positions significantly, according to industry sources, while Galaxy Digital postponed its planned Bitcoin accumulation strategy until market conditions stabilize.
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