A wave of selling has pushed Bitcoin’s price back down to the $109,000 range, signaling increased bearish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. Over the last day, the total value of all digital currencies has decreased by 2%, settling around $3.8 trillion. This significant downturn resulted in over $900 million in leveraged positions being liquidated, impacting more than 200,000 traders.
Ethereum (ETH) experienced a substantial decline, particularly after recently outperforming Bitcoin. The price of ETH retreated towards $4,400, effectively erasing the gains it had made following the Jackson Hole economic symposium. Data sourced from CoinGlass indicates that approximately $320 million worth of both long and short Ethereum positions were wiped out.
Despite this recent dip, Ether remains up by a notable 80% over the past two months. In contrast, Bitcoin’s growth during the same period was only around 3%.
Altcoin Enthusiasm Wanes as ETH Moves Back From $5K
The market’s current uncertainty has traders speculating, as total cryptocurrency liquidations approach the $1 billion mark. A significant portion, $758 million (86%), were long positions, implying that many traders anticipated a quick price recovery following the initial drop.
Across the board, digital assets are showing negative indicators. The widely-followed Fear and Greed Index remains in “Neutral” territory but is edging closer to indicating fear among investors.
The recent bullish momentum has stalled for the top 10 cryptocurrencies, and this has had a ripple effect throughout the broader market. For example, the price of Solana (SOL) has decreased by over 4% in the last 24 hours. Tokens within the Solana ecosystem have followed suit. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) and Bonk prices each declined by nearly 4%. Notably, PENGU and BONK have already decreased by 30% and 42%, respectively, in the past month. According to data from DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) in Solana has fallen by 6% in a single day, now standing at $10.66 billion.
Last week, enthusiasm for altcoins surged as Ethereum approached the $5,000 level. However, this positive sentiment appears to be diminishing as the cryptocurrency market is mirroring a decline in the S&P 500, indicating that macroeconomic factors are playing a significant role. At the time of this writing, ETH is trading around $4,415. Data also reveals that the total value locked in Ethereum has decreased by 3.63% over the last day, totaling $92.02 billion.
Bitcoin’s Upward Trend Loses Steam
A recent report from Glassnode indicates that momentum in Bitcoin’s spot market has slowed, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) trending toward oversold territory over the past week. Open interest in futures contracts has contracted by 2.6% to $45.9 billion as leverage decreases, while options skew has jumped to 8.2%. This upward skew suggests increasing demand for protection against potential downside price movements, coinciding with ETF outflows reaching $1 billion.
The report further noted that on-chain metrics reflect weakening demand, as active addresses have decreased by 2% to 692,000. Additionally, transaction fees are down by 17%, suggesting a lower demand for blockspace. As of the current moment, Bitcoin is trading around $109,728, representing a 5% decline over the past week.
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