Bitcoin fell below the US$27,000 support level on Friday morning in Asia. Ether also retreated and lost control of the US$1,600 mark for the first time in the past week. All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies have recorded losses in the last 24 hours. Solana led the losers with a decline of more than 3%. The fall in crypto prices on Thursday coincided with a decline in global equity markets as investors digested the US Fed’s hawkish comments on monetary policy. US stock futures were trading flat during early hours in Asia after all three major US indices posted losses of more than 1.0% on Thursday.
Crypto falls as US bond yields rise
Bitcoin fell 2.10% to US$26,580.90 in the past 24 hours as of 07:30 AM in Hong Kong, according to CoinMarketCap data. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to US$26,389.30 on Thursday night, its lowest level in a week.
As expected, after deciding to keep interest rates unchanged in September, the US Federal Reserve anticipated another interest rate hike by the end of 2023. While she lowered her forecast for the pace of interest rate cuts in 2024, Fed members’ comments were “more hawkish” than analysts had expected.
Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields hit a 16-year high of 4.49% on Thursday, following the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday.
“It (the Fed projection) has caused US equity and rate markets to break some key levels, and reflexivity may dominate the bearish thesis from here,” digital asset trading firm QCP Capital said in Thursday’s Telegram markets update. “
The decline in equity markets and rising Treasury yields “could penetrate the crypto markets and take BTC down with them, albeit with lower beta than other very extended macro markets like the NASDAQ,” QCP Capital said.
Marcus Thielen, head of research and strategy at digital asset services platform Matrixport, said that despite broader pressures, Bitcoin could get some support from the multiple spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications underway in the US.
“If the SEC approves a Bitcoin ETF, which we believe has a 70% chance in the next six months, there could be an immediate revaluation and Bitcoin could be +20% more expensive in an instant. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the upside performance of such an event,” Thielen said in an emailed comment.
Ether fell 2.35% to US$1,585.53 and was trading 2.66% lower for the week. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency fell below the US$1,600 support level for the first time since last Thursday.
All other top 10 non-stable coin cryptocurrencies have recorded losses in the last 24 hours. Solana’s SOL remained in the red, falling 3.73% to US$19.54. But still it recorded a weekly profit of 3.35%
Meanwhile, collapsed Tokyo-based crypto exchange Mt. Gox delayed the deadline to pay its customers from October 2023 to October 2024, according to an announcement from Mt. Gox trustees on Thursday.
In 2014, approximately 850,000 Bitcoins (worth approximately US$22.57 billion at current prices) were stolen from Mt. Gox, which was the world’s largest crypto exchange at the time. The crypto exchange currently holds approximately 142,000 Bitcoins. Analysts expect the recovery of Mt. Gox’s lost Bitcoins to add selling pressure to the broader Bitcoin market.
Justin D’Anethan, head of Asia-Pacific business development at Belgium, said, “(Mt. Gox’s delay) – at least for now – cuts short a wave of selling for which many traders may have been preparing and which now “Can be ignored.” based crypto market maker KeyRock.
Elsewhere, USDT stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings expanded its USDT lending services during the latest fiscal quarter, less than a year after saying it would phase out the practice.
“Most investors and holders will see this as additional risk, as it means more assets will be used by third parties and could create liquidity issues if market conditions get worse,” D’Anethan said. Are.”
At 07:30 am in Hong Kong, USDT traded at US$1.0001, slightly above its 1:1 peg against the US dollar. The assessment shows that “investors are not worried and in fact prefer it compared to most other stablecoin alternatives,” D’Anethan said.
Total crypto market capitalization fell 1.67% to US$1.05 trillion over the last 24 hours, while trading volume increased 158.64% to US$72.41 billion.
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