Bitcoin Stays Resilient at $95K While Altcoins Reel From Heavy Losses
The cryptocurrency market continued its downward slide on Tuesday, with altcoins bearing the brunt of the sell-off as bitcoin (BTC) held its ground, dipping just 3% to $95,000.
Altcoins such as XRP, Polkadot (DOT), Litecoin (LTC), Aptos (APT), and Cardano (ADA) suffered significant losses, plunging between 15% and 18% in the last 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 index, which tracks the top 20 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, fell nearly 10%. Ethereum’s ether (ETH) and Solana’s SOL also declined but outperformed many peers, dropping by 8% and 9%, respectively.
Bitcoin continued to demonstrate relative strength, with its market cap dominance rising to 57.9%, the highest level since November, as traders sought safety amid the altcoin bloodbath.
The sell-off extended a turbulent start to the week that saw over $1.5 billion in leveraged long positions liquidated on Monday. An additional $450 million was liquidated on Tuesday, mostly from altcoin futures, according to CoinGlass. Despite the ongoing correction, bitcoin futures remain robust, with open interest hovering at $58 billion, albeit 6.8% lower than Sunday.
The downturn comes after a parabolic rally in November, driven by renewed optimism in the crypto market, including bitcoin’s historic breach of $100,000. However, attention now shifts to Wednesday’s U.S. inflation report, which could dictate market direction in the near term.
“Traders are exercising caution ahead of the CPI release,” said Ruslan Lienkha, Chief of Markets at YouHodler. “A higher-than-expected inflation reading could exacerbate the correction, especially for risk assets like cryptocurrencies.”
Traditional equity markets remained relatively stable. Following minor losses on Monday, major U.S. indices showed little movement on Tuesday, highlighting a sharp contrast with the volatility in digital asset markets.
