Bitcoin (BTC) is encountering its most substantial weekly decline since the FTX crash in November as the cryptocurrency market grapples with recent turbulence. Despite hopes of a pivotal court decision that could impact BTC's price, the anticipated ruling failed to materialize on Friday.
The absence of a decision further contributes to the uncertainty surrounding the cryptocurrency market.
BTC's price dropped below the $26,000 mark on Friday, retreating from a rally that briefly pushed it towards $27,000. This decline follows a significant plunge on Thursday when the cryptocurrency hit its lowest price since mid-June, touching $25,392. The sharp fall was triggered by cascading liquidations of leveraged trading positions.
The overall weekly decline for BTC stands at around 11%, marking the most substantial drop since November 2022's market crash to $15,000, driven by the FTX incident.
Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, experienced a 10% drop over the week. Despite suffering losses, ETH fared relatively better than BTC due to news indicating that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is open to approving exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on ETH futures. However, a "significant downtrend" has been observed in ETH's price momentum, as indicated by CoinDesk's trend indicator.
Other cryptocurrencies, including Ripple's XRP, Polygon's MATIC, DOGE, and SHIB, also faced significant losses of 15% to 20% over the week. The broader crypto market's performance, represented by the CoinDesk Market Index, recorded a decline of over 12% during the week.
The anticipation of a court decision between investment manager Grayscale and the SEC was closely watched by market participants. Grayscale aims to transform its $12 billion GBTC bitcoin trust into an ETF, which could bolster its attractiveness to investors. However, the regulator's rejection of this proposal led to a lawsuit by Grayscale. The unresolved outcome of this legal battle has cast a shadow over the market, with potential implications for BTC's future trajectory.
Market analysts have attributed the recent price volatility more to market structure and excessive leverage rather than specific news events. K33 Research, a crypto market analytics firm, emphasized that the sharp drop in crypto prices was driven by the buildup of leverage and open interest in the derivatives market. Despite the recent dip, some analysts see the potential for a positive turn. A market report suggests that the current decline might set the stage for a short squeeze, potentially leading to renewed bullish sentiment.
While the cryptocurrency market remains uncertain, investors with a longer time horizon view the recent dip as an opportunity to accumulate more BTC at discounted prices. Despite the ongoing volatility, market participants continue to monitor regulatory developments and macroeconomic trends that could influence the cryptocurrency landscape in the coming weeks.
By fLEXI tEAM
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