Bitcoin price drops to $58k following weekend sell-off
Bitcoin prices experienced a decline on Monday, continuing a downward trend observed over the weekend, as confidence in the crypto markets remained fragile following a significant slump in the past month.
Last week, the crypto sector saw some relief, aligning with a broader financial market rebound, driven by investor optimism that concerns about a potential US recession were exaggerated. However, this positive sentiment waned over the weekend, leading to prolonged selling pressure on crypto assets in the last two days.
By 01:52 ET (05:52 GMT), Bitcoin had dropped by 4.3% to $58,520.7. Trading activity was relatively subdued due to a public holiday in the Japanese market. The world’s largest cryptocurrency had been rangebound between $50,000 and $60,000 in the previous week after touching a low of $49,000 earlier.
Market sentiment towards riskier assets remained tense, especially in anticipation of crucial US inflation data scheduled for Wednesday. This data is expected to provide insights into the Federal Reserve’s stance on potential interest rate adjustments.
While global stock markets displayed signs of recovery in recent sessions, with Asian equities advancing on Monday, the crypto market lagged behind this upturn due to its speculative nature. The strength of the US dollar also weighed on sentiment, with traders anticipating the inflation report on Wednesday, which is projected to indicate a further easing of inflation in July, potentially paving the way for interest rate cuts by the Fed.
In the broader crypto landscape, the retreat in Bitcoin prices spilled over to major alternative coins. Ethereum, the second-largest token, witnessed a 4.3% decline to $2,549.22. XRP, another prominent cryptocurrency, fell by 4.7% to $0.5625, retracing from a robust rally in the previous week.
Ripple Labs, the issuer of XRP, was directed to pay a fraction of the fines sought by the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged illegal securities sales. However, this case did not offer definitive regulatory clarity on the classification of crypto tokens as securities.
Among other alternative coins, ADA and SOL experienced declines of 5.8% and 8.3%, respectively. Memetokens SHIB and DOGE also recorded losses exceeding 6% each.
In conclusion, the crypto market’s recent performance reflects ongoing volatility and sensitivity to broader market dynamics, with investors closely monitoring key economic indicators and regulatory developments for potential impact on digital asset prices.
