Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a pullback over the weekend, dropping from $98,500 to a low of $95,500 late Sunday, before recovering some of its losses. This decline, attributed to profit-taking ahead of the $100,000 mark, sent ripples through the wider cryptocurrency market, leading to declines in several major altcoins.
XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE) were hit the hardest, each falling by more than 5%, with other tokens like Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and Binance Coin (BNB) seeing drops between 2% and 5%. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies dropped 2.4%, with the CoinDesk 20 Index falling by 1.48%. However, the market bounced back by Monday morning, especially in Asian trading hours, with losses for the major coins reducing to under 2%.
Despite this volatility, over $500 million in crypto futures were liquidated, including $366 million in long positions and $127 million in shorts. Interestingly, liquidations in smaller altcoins and mid-cap futures exceeded $100 million, suggesting that traders were actively taking higher risks.
However, some experts are optimistic about the market’s future. Jeff Mei, the COO of crypto exchange BTSE, remains confident, stating, “Bitcoin has been driving the market forward, with institutional interest pushing ETFs. We expect the $100K mark to be hit soon, and Ethereum and Solana ETFs could be next in line.” Mei also pointed to favorable macroeconomic conditions and ongoing crypto-friendly policy discussions as factors that could keep the rally going into 2025.
