Market picture
The crypto market rolled back another 0.9% in 24 hours to a capitalisation of $2.48 trillion – the lowest in a week and a half. Bitcoin reversed by the same amplitude, while there was no uniformity in dynamics among the top coins. Ethereum was unchanged for the day, remaining at $3300, Solana lost 3.1%, Dogecoin fell another 4%, BNB rose 4.2%, and Toncoin strengthened 0.3%. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index rolled back to 70, its lowest since 14 February.
Bitcoin ended Wednesday where it started the day, trading at $65.5K. Enthusiasts continue to buy back the first cryptocurrency on dips closer to $65K. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s inability to rise is alarming, although the day before, we saw a weaker dollar and stronger stock indices, which is fuelling risk appetite.
The cryptocurrency market’s lagging performance can easily be attributed to accumulated overbought conditions and wariness ahead of the monthly labour market report. At the same time, we regard the current weakness as consolidation within the bull market, almost excluding the risks of a long-term reversal.
News background
Spot trading volume on cryptocurrency exchanges reached $2.5 trillion in March, The Block calculated. That’s the highest since November 2021. The record of $4.1 trillion was set in May 2021. The total trading volume of BTC futures contracts in March rose 86% to $2.5 trillion.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, March was a record-breaking month in terms of spot bitcoin-ETF trading volume. The figure nearly tripled from the previous month, from $42bn to $111bn. According to SoSoValue, three exchange-traded funds from Grayscale (GBTC), BlackRock (IBIT) and Fidelity (FBTC) continue to dominate trading volume. Meanwhile, total outflows from GBTC have reached $15bn since launch.
The crypto market can expect an outflow of liquidity due to the renewed appeal of gold with speculative investors, suggested Eric Balchunas, an ETF expert at Bloomberg.
A US government-controlled wallet with 30,174 BTC initiated a transfer of about 2000 BTC to the Coinbase Prime platform address. Experts have allowed the sale of assets. Presumably, this is part of the assets seized from the Silk Road darknet marketplace.
MN Trading founder Michael van de Poppe said that “at the peak of bullish momentum”, bearish narratives like the sale of bitcoins by US authorities have a “huge impact” on investor sentiment.
Regulatory questions directed to the SEC often need to be answered, suggesting a decline in the Commission’s genuine engagement with the public, said Hester Pearce, the agency’s commissioner.
