The cryptocurrency market has made a turn on Friday, with many coins plunging into the red. Bears have seemingly assumed control ahead of the weekend. The total crypto market capital has slimmed down from a peak of around $1.931 trillion hours at the start of the day to $1.843 trillion as of writing. The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has dropped 3.85% and is headed towards support at $41,400, expectedly pulling altcoins with it.
Solana (SOL) has posted the biggest slump, Ether (ETH) trading above $2,740
The largest altcoin by market capital, Ether, plunged from a high of $2,845 earlier today to an intraday low of $2,707.56 before finding stability above this level.
ETH/USD 24-hr trading chart Source: CoinMarketCap
It is currently trading at $2,743 – down 5.65% in the last 24 hours, with analysts predicting a further downtrend for the altcoin. Ether’s market capital has pared down correspondingly to $328.96 billion, CoinMarketCap data showed, at the time of writing.
Solana’s native token lost its momentum today and has receded almost 7% falling below the $100 price level. SOL has moved south from a 24-hr high of $100.83 and is now changing hands at $93.11 against the dollar.
SOL/USD 24-hr trading chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Prior to the correction, SOL had been one of the best-performing tokens. SOL/USD surged from $84.50 during Monday’s trading session to a weekly high of $105.98 on Wednesday. This was the first time the pair had traded above $105 since 11th February.
To learn more about these tokens visit our Investing in Ethereum or Investing in Solana guides.
Algorand (ALGO), Avalanche (AVAX), Theta (THETA) tokens are down over 3%
Algorand’s token ALGO has dipped 4.13% in the last 24 hours as per market data. Following a sharp rally on Sunday, ALGO notched a weekly high of $0.8931 on Monday but has since retraced below $0.80. It is currently trading at $0.7992 with a market capital of $5.30 billion.
ALGO/USD 24-hr trading chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
AVAX, the eighth-ranked crypto asset by market capital on CoinMarketCap, has slid 3.01% in the last 24 hours. The crypto set an intraday high of $82.78 earlier today before crashing to $75.47 hours later. AVAX/USD is now changing hands at $79.81.
AVAX/USD 24-hr trading chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Theta (THETA) utility token has reclaimed $3.00 following a correction from $3.25 earlier today to a 24-hr low of $2.92. The market capital of the decentralized video streaming chain has contracted to $3.037 billion at the time of writing. THETA’s trading volume has pared down by almost 24% to $252.428 million.
To learn more about these tokens check out our Investing in Theta, Investing in Algorand or Investing in Avalanche guides.
Polygon (MATIC) and Cardano (ADA) have also sunk
Cardano (ADA) has climbed to seventh-place displacing Solana (SOL), which has suffered heavy losses in the last 24 hours. ADA lost support at $0.90 earlier today as the market came under heavy selling pressure. It is now holding above $0.88 – down 3.26% from yesterday.
MATIC/USD 24-hr trading chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
After setting a 24-hr high of $1.64, MATIC/USD saw a steep descent to $1.52 alongside the majority of the top altcoins. Market data shows Polygon’s token has retraced 3.26% over the last 24 hours to $1.55 but is up about 8% over the last 7-days.
To learn more about these tokens visit our Investing in Polygon or Investing in Cardano guides.
Here’s what is driving crypto prices south
The altcoin market recession tied to that of Bitcoin has been attributed to a combination of macro factors. The ascension of bears to take the reins ahead of the weekend puts pressure on many crypto-assets that rallied to new heights at the start of the week. The short-term outlook of altcoins remains bearish until Bitcoin can retest the grounds above $42,000. Some analysts are confident that the price of the leading cryptocurrency will move north, notwithstanding the current bearish sentiment.
