The two largest digital coins, Bitcoin and Ethereum, traded lower Thursday night as the global cryptocurrency market dropped 2.5% to $2.1 trillion.
| Coin | 24-hour | 7-day | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | -3.6% | 3.65% | $45,507.27 |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | -3.25% | 6.1% | $3,287.11 |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | -3.1% | 1.8% | $0.14 |
| Cryptocurrency | 24-Hour % Change (+/-) | Price |
|---|---|---|
| STEPN (GMT) | +23.4% | $2.46 |
| IOST (IOST) | +20.9% | $0.04274 |
| Theta Network (THETA) | +10.9% | $4.33 |
See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)
Why It Matters: U.S. equities slumped on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropping 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.
The S&P 500 had the worst quarterly drop in two years and declined 4.9% for the period, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 9.1% in the preceding three months.
Bitcoin and Ethereum have fallen 1.7% and 11%, respectively, in the past 90 days, but have posted gains of 2.3% and 10.5% in the last 30 days.
The fall in risk assets has taken place amid rising inflation and a military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
On Thursday, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), a price metric favored by the U.S. Federal Reserve, was released. PCE, excluding food and energy, rose by 0.4% as expected, according to a report from Reuters.
However, the PCE number was higher than last month and it is expected to continue going higher, according to Ken Polcari, a managing partner at Kace Capital Advisors.
“That only solidifies [Fed Chair] Jay Powell and the Fed’s position to be more aggressive so there are going to be multiple 50 basis point hikes,” said Polcari.
Thursday’s action on Wall Street could keep the pressure on cryptocurrencies, according to OANDA Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya.
“Bitcoin long-term options bets are growing, but it looks like we might have to wait a while until a new catalyst emerges to take out the recent highs,” wrote Moya in a note seen by Benzinga.
On Thursday, cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe tweeted, “Maybe the odds of a short-term correction are starting to increase.”
Maybe the odds of a short term correction are starting to increase.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) March 31, 2022
Despite Bitcoin cooling down, altcoins are still resurgent, according to cryptocurrency investor Quinten Francois.
#altcoins are not giving a f*ck about this #bitcoin drop ?$BTC / $ALT pairs barely moving. Good sign.
— Quinten Francois (@QuintenFrancois) March 31, 2022
Glassnode co-founders Jan & Yann tweeted that Bitcoin is “looking strong” and making its way towards $48,000 resistance.
“Our signals turned bullish as $193mn flowed into [Bitcoin], [Ethereum], and alts last week,” said Jan & Yann.
#Bitcoin is looking strong above $46k and making way towards the next resistance level at $48k.
Our signals turned bullish as $193mn flowed into #BTC, #ETH, and alts last week. Deep dive into crypto’s comeback herehttps://t.co/puXlRHCMaK pic.twitter.com/KnQR2JCFc4
— Negentropic (@Negentropic_) March 31, 2022
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