The crypto market has lost 1.8% over the past 24 hours, falling back to a cap of $1.17 trillion and out of the trading range since mid-month. Bitcoin is down 2.1%, Ethereum is -1% and other top altcoins fluctuate between -5% (XRP) and +4% (Dogecoin). Bitcoin fell below $29K on Monday for the first time since 21 June. Monday afternoon saw the rapid implementation of a deepening correction.
The first cryptocurrency fell to its 50-day moving average and touched the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the rally from the June lows. Now Bitcoin is cooled enough, so its next move could be the prologue to a relatively long trend. Consolidation below $29K could signal the break of the medium-term bull trend.
However, the downside is not the main scenario, and there are more chances for Bitcoin’s growth to recover after profit-taking. Increased risk appetite in global markets following China's stimulus measures and multi-month highs in US indices is also playing into the hands of institutional demand for Bitcoin.
News background
According to CoinShares, investments in crypto funds fell by $7 million last week after four weeks of inflow. Bitcoin investments decreased by $13 million, while Ethereum rose by $7 million. Investor attention shifted to altcoins: XRP (+$2.6 million), Solana ($1.1 million), Uniswap ($0.7 million), and Polygon ($0.7 million). The wallet, inactive for over 11 years, moved all its 1,037 BTC once bought by $4.92 per BTC, now worth more than $31 million.
The Bitcoin network mined 800,000 blocks on Monday. A new block is created approximately every 577 seconds. There are only 40,000 blocks left to be mined before the next halving, which will take place around 16 April 2024.
According to a CryptoVantage survey, 70% of Americans expect Bitcoin to reach record highs within the next five years, while 46% believe Ethereum has the potential to overtake BTC in capitalisation.
The launch of BlackRock's bitcoin ETF will push bitcoin towards $100,000, according to Bloomberg strategist James Seyffart. The probability of BlackRock's application being approved is around 50% and could rise significantly soon.
