Futures tracking ether racked up $88 million in losses, the most among crypto futures, as traders took profits following the move from $1,100 to over $1,600 in the past few weeks.
In the past 24 hours, bitcoin (BTC) fell 4.4%, trading at just over support at $21,000 in European afternoon hours, with XRP and BNB mirroring the losses. Ether slid 8.8%, leading losses among major cryptocurrencies, with Solana’s SOL and dogecoin each dropping more than 7%.
“Without support from stock indices, the cryptocurrency market is buckling under its own weight with no meaningful growth drivers,” Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior market analyst at FxPro, told CoinDesk. Current market conditions, he said, were “fueling expectations of a prolonged lull, which fit into historical patterns.”
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"Bitcoin bottom signals continued this week, but no clear buy signal emerged and the macroeconomic situation still dominates,” said Martin Hiesboeck, head of crypto research at Uphold, a crypto trading platform. He said a 75-basis point hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve this week is more likely than a 100-basis point increase, but he isn't expecting a big decrease in volatility in either case. "Last week's bounce, while showing some good signals, was not nearly enough for bitcoin," he added.
Traders, meanwhile, have fully priced in a 75-point move by the Fed, which has almost no choice but to tighten after U.S. inflation touched a four-decade high of 9.1% in June.
Equity markets are mixed on Tuesday, with the Asia Dow climbing 0.5% overnight, Europe's Stoxx 600 up marginally, and U.S. stock index futures down about 0.4%.