Bitcoin (BTC) plummeted below $100,000 as the crypto markets witnessed a significant drop on Tuesday, driven by stronger-than-anticipated economic indicators that could delay Federal Reserve rate cuts. BTC was trading above $100,000 since January 6, when it reached an intraday high of $102,464. However, its decline saw the price plummet below $100,000 to its current $96,278. The price is down almost 6% over the past 24 hours, with sellers firmly in control.
The rest of the crypto market fared no better, with Ethereum (ETH) plummeting over 9% to slip below $3,500. Solana (SOL) also dipped below $200 after shedding over 9% and is currently trading around $197. Dogecoin (DOGE) plummeted almost 10% and slipped to $0.352. Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Tron (TRX), Chainlink (LINK), Toncoin (TON), Stellar (XLM), Hedera (HBAR), Polkadot (DOT), Litecoin (LTC), Uniswap (UNI) and other altcoins also registered substantial losses.
Bitcoin (BTC) Plummets Below $97,000
Bitcoin (BTC) registered a shard drop on Tuesday to slip below $100,000 after stronger-than-expected economic indicators put pressure on risk assets like crypto. According to data from Coin Metrics, the flagship currency fell to a low of $96,525, dropping over 5%. Crypto stocks, including MicroStrategy, Mara Holdings, Core Scientific, and Coinbase also registered substantial drops. The decline comes after a sudden increase in the 10-year US Treasury Yield following data released by the Institute for Supply Management showed faster-than-expected growth in the US service sector, adding to concerns about inflation.
Market watchers expect BTC to reach $200,000 this year, with investors hopeful a clear regulatory framework will support digital asset prices and benefit crypto stocks. However, the uncertainty surrounding rate cuts by the Federal Reserve could adversely impact crypto prices. The Fed signaled it would make fewer rate cuts in 2025, a decision that rattled markets.
A Surge In Liquidations
The cryptocurrency market saw a surge in liquidations after Bitcoin (BTC)’s unexpected drop below $100,000. Data from Coinglass showed that over $200 million in long positions were liquidated in an hour. A total of $483 million in long positions was liquidated in 24 hours. Other altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), also registered substantial drops, with ETH slipping below the crucial $3,500 level and SOL dropping below $200. While lower than the single largest 24-hour or hourly liquidations seen in December/January, the numbers are still significant, with over 129,900 traders liquidated in the past 24 hours. The largest liquidation was seen on Binance, with nearly $12 million liquidated.
US CFTC Chair To Step Down
Rostin Behnam, the Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will step down on January 20, signaling the end of a four-year tenure that saw significant enforcement action in the crypto sector and calls for stronger regulations. Behnam oversaw several high-profile cases, including a $4.3 billion settlement with Binance. However, he expressed concern about the lack of oversight in the digital asset space, describing current regulations as insufficient.
Under Behnam, the CFTC finalized Federal guidelines for carbon offset trading and expanded oversight into digital assets. He also ensured action against Binance for operating illegally in the US as an unlicensed crypto derivatives platform and failing to comply with regulations. He also flagged regulatory gaps in the crypto markets, arguing many tokens qualify as commodities and should come under the CFTC’s jurisdiction, calling upon his replacement to deliver “renewed focus” for more clarity.
Meanwhile, Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner and the current head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division, has emerged as the top pick to replace Behnam.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) has plummeted below $100,000 after dropping over 5% on Tuesday as markets turned bearish after stronger-than-expected economic indicators put significant pressure on risk assets. BTC slumped to a low of $96,202 on Tuesday, erasing a significant portion of the gains made the previous week before rising slightly to settle at $97,019. Meanwhile, Katie Stockton, a top technical analyst at Fairland Strategies, has warned investors to brace for a potential double-digit drop in BTC prices, suggesting the asset has been massively overbought in its latest bull run. The analyst believes BTC will find support around $84,000, implying a drop of 13%. A secondary support at around $73,800 will come into play in the event of a steeper selloff.
Stockton said in a note to clients she foresaw near-term weakness despite BTC reclaiming the $100,000 level, adding that BTC could slip below $90,000 to find support around the $84,000 mark. Despite her prediction, Stockton remains bullish about BTC’s long-term prospects, pointing to a strong long-term backdrop that could support the asset.
“Bitcoin has a rebound underway, but we expect it to fade quickly, yielding a lower high relative to the December peak. The weekly stochastics have an active overbought downturn, and the daily stochastics are newly overbought, so we think further upside will be limited in the near term.”
BTC had been quite bullish despite dropping to a low of $91,279 last Monday. It recovered from this level on Tuesday and surged to an intraday high of 496,159. However, buyers lost momentum after reaching this level, and BTC ultimately settled at $93,383, registering an increase of almost 1%. The price continued to push higher on Wednesday, rising 1.06% to $94,373. Bullish sentiment intensified considerably on Thursday as BTC registered an increase of almost 3% to go above $95,000 and settle at 496,823. The price pushed above the 20 and 50-day SMAs on Friday after rising 1.09% and settling at $97,878.
Source: TradingView
The weekend saw buyers retain control as BTC registered a marginal increase on Saturday and Sunday to settle at $98,312. Bullish sentiment intensified substantially on Monday as BTC surged past $100,000 and settled at $102,228. However, bearish sentiment returned on Tuesday following stronger-than-expected economic indicators putting pressure on risk assets. As a result, BTC plummeted over 5% to go below $100,000 and the 50-day SMA and settled at $97,019. The current session sees BTC marginally down as sellers look to drive BTC below the 20-day SMA. If sellers retain control and the bearish sentiment persists, BTC could drop to $90,000. If Stockton’s prediction holds, BTC could slip below $90,000.
Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
Ethereum (ETH) is struggling to remain above $3,300 as bearish sentiment in the market drives prices lower. ETH lost the crucial $3,500 level on Tuesday after plummeting over 8%, slipping below key moving averages. ETH was quite bullish the previous week despite facing considerable volatility and registering only a marginal increase on Monday. Buyers attempted a move towards $3,500 on Tuesday as ETH reached an intraday high of $3,448. However, it could not go any further as sellers drove the price down almost 1% to $3,333. Sentiment changed on Wednesday as ETH registered an increase of 0.69% and settled at $3,356. Buyers retained control on Thursday as ETH rose almost 3% and settled at $3,452.
Source: TradingView
Bullish sentiment registered a substantial increase on Friday as ETH went above the 20 and 50-day SMAs and $3,500 to settle at $3,607. The weekend began with ETH rising by 1.37% on Saturday and moving to $3,657. However, with the resistance at $3,700 coming into play, the price dipped by 0.615% to settle at $3,634. Buyers attempted to clear $3,700 on Monday as ETH rose to an intraday high of $3,744. However, ETH lost momentum after reaching this level and ultimately settled at $3,687. Markets turned bearish on Tuesday, and ETH plummeted over 8% to slip below the 20 and 50-day SMAs and the crucial $3,500 level to $3,381. ETH remains in the red during the current session, with the price down almost 2%, as sellers look to drive it below $3,300.
Solana (SOL) Price Analysis
Solana (SOL) has registered a substantial drop over the past two sessions as markets turned bearish following the release of economic data. SOL started the previous week experiencing significant volatility as buyers and sellers struggled to establish control. Buyers ultimately gained the upper hand as the price registered an increase of 0.72% and moved to $191. SOL surged to an intraday high of $199 on Tuesday as buyers attempted to push above $200. However, they lost momentum at this point, allowing sellers to take control and drive SOL down to $189. Buyers returned to the market on Wednesday as SOL registered an increase of almost 3% and moved to $194. Bullish sentiment intensified significantly on Thursday as SOL surged past the 20-day SMA and $200 to settle at $208.
Source: TradingView
SOL registered an increase of almost 5% on Friday, rising to $217 as buyers set their sights on $220. However, with sellers active at this level, SOL lost momentum on Saturday, dropping marginally to $216. Sellers retained control on Sunday, falling by 1.52% as SOL ended the weekend in the red at $213. The price recovered on Monday as SOL reached an intraday high of $223. SOL could not remain at this level and ultimately fell to $218, registering an increase of 2.30%. SOL plummeted 7% on Tuesday as markets turned bearish and settled at $202. The current session sees SOL below $200 and the 20-day SMA, with the price down over 4% and trading around $193.
Injective (INJ) Price Analysis
Injective (INJ) was extremely bullish last week before dropping significantly on Tuesday after failing to move past the 50-day SMA. Despite dropping to a low of $19.49 last Tuesday, INJ made a strong recovery on Wednesday, registering an increase of almost 5% and moving to $20.52. The price continued to push higher on Thursday, rising by 5.76% and settling at $21.70. Bullish sentiment intensified on Friday as INJ went past the 20 and 200-day SMAs after registering an increase of over 6% and settling at $23.03.
Source: TradingView
Buyers retained control on Saturday as INJ registered an increase of 2.41% and moved to $23.59. Sellers attempted to take control on Sunday as INJ dipped to an intraday low of $22.68. However, it recovered from this level to register an increase of 7.65% and ended the weekend at $25.39. INJ experienced considerable volatility on Monday as buyers and sellers attempted to establish control. Buyers ultimately gained the upper hand as INJ registered an increase of just over 2% and settled at $25.91. However, bearish sentiment returned on Tuesday as the price plummeted over 8% and settled at $23.80. The current session sees sellers remain in control, with INJ down almost 5% and trading at $22.72.
Dogwifhat (WIF) Price Analysis
Dogwifhat (WIF) has been trading in the red since the weekend after failing to move above the 200-day SMA on Saturday. WIF had been trading in a narrow range since December 20, when it dropped to an intraday low of $1.72. It broke out of this range towards the end of last week, registering a substantial jump of almost 9% on Thursday to go above $2 and settle at $2.02. Buyers retained control on Friday as WIF rose over 7% to go above the 20-day SMA and settle at $2.16. However, sentiment waned on Saturday, with the 200-day SMA acting as a dynamic resistance level. As a result, WIF could only register a marginal increase and settle at $2.17.
Source: TradingView
With buyers losing momentum, sellers took control on Sunday, driving WIF down by 3.51% to $2.10. WIF experienced a marginal decline on Monday, falling to $2.08. However, bearish sentiment intensified considerably on Tuesday as the price plummeted below the 20-day SMA, dropping over 11% and settling at $1.85. The current session sees WIF marginally down as sellers look to drive the price lower.
Chainlink (LINK) Price Analysis
Chainlink (LINK) slipped below the 50-day SMA on Monday (December 30), dropping almost 2% to $20.57. Sellers retained control on Tuesday as the price fell below the $20 support level and settled at $19.99. However, LINK recovered from this level on Wednesday to register an increase of 8.55% to reclaim $20 and go above the 50-day SMA to settle at $21.70. Buyers retained control on Thursday as LINK rose by 1.64% and settled at $22.05. Friday saw an increase of 6.39% as LINK moved to $23.46.
Source: TradingView
LINK faced substantial volatility on Saturday before registering a marginal increase and settling at $23.59. The price registered a marginal drop on Sunday, falling to $23.56 and ending the weekend in the red. Buyers attempted a push above $25 on Monday as LINK rose to an intraday high of $24.76. However, they lost momentum after reaching this level, and LINK ultimately settled at $23.83. Bearish sentiment returned to the market on Tuesday as LINK fell over 10%, slipping below the 20 and 50-day SMAs and settling at $21.38. The current session sees sellers retain control, with LINK down over 2% and trading around $20.89.
Uniswap (UNI) Price Analysis
Uniswap (UNI) stalled around the $15.50 mark as buyers lost momentum, allowing sellers to drive the price below $15. UNI was quite bullish the previous week, rising almost 3% on Wednesday to go above the 50-day SMA and settle at $13.62. Bullish sentiment intensified considerably on Thursday as UNI registered an increase of 5.52% to go above the 20-day SMA and settle at $14.37. Buyers retained control on Friday, pushing UNI up by almost 6% to $15.18. Sellers attempted to drive UNI towards the 20-day SMA on Saturday as the price fell to an intraday low of $14.76. However, UNI recovered to register a marginal increase and ended the day at $15.28.
Source: TradingView
With sellers active around $15.50, UNI lost momentum on Sunday, registering a drop of 0.79% and settling at $15.16. The current week began with sellers retaining control as UNI dropped marginally to $15.08. Selling pressure intensified substantially on Wednesday as UNI plummeted over 10% to go below the 20 and 50-day SMAs and $15 to settle at $13.54. Sellers are attempting to drive UNI below $13 during the current session, with the price down 1.30% and trading around $13.26.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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