Bitcoin drops while altcoins take a bigger hit, with traders staying cautious during Asia’s market hours.
- Bitcoin fell from $93,750 to $91,530 during Asia trading hours.
- Altcoins including PENGU and XRP dropped even more sharply.
- $465 million in crypto futures positions were liquidated in 24 hours.
Market Dips After Failed Price Break
Bitcoin saw a quick drop early Wednesday. At midnight, it traded around $93,750, but by 10:00 a.m. UTC it had fallen to $91,530. This came after bitcoin failed again to go above $94,500, a level it’s attempted to beat three times in the past five weeks.
Other coins, called altcoins, fell harder. PENGU dropped 6.5%, and XRP went down 3.5% since midnight. Bitcoin remains in its earlier range, trading between $85,000 and $94,500.
Traders Turn Risk-Averse
Traders appear to be taking fewer risks. U.S. stock futures are also down slightly. This cautious mood may have triggered the wider cryptocurrency sell-off.
$465M in Crypto Futures Liquidated
Over $465 million worth of crypto futures positions were liquidated on exchanges in the past 24 hours. More than half of this came from long positions, expecting prices to rise. This is the opposite of the last two days, where short sellers took the bigger losses.
Despite the liquidations, open interest (or OI) in crypto futures remains steady at over $143 billion, the highest in nearly two months. Positive funding rates suggest many traders are still betting on crypto prices rising.
Altcoins Hit Harder Than Bitcoin
Some altcoins had larger drops. Zcash (ZEC), a privacy coin, fell 4.5%. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index dropped 1.5%, which is double the decline seen in the CoinDesk 5 index, made up of coins like BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA.
Yet not all is negative. The DeFi sector saw a small rise, with total value locked (TVL) going up by 0.17%, a sign that people are still adding funds to decentralized finance projects.
The altcoin market also shows early signs of optimism. CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index is currently 25/100, higher than December’s low of 14.
TRX Shows Strength
One exception was TRX, which gained 1.2% over the past 24 hours and is still in the green since midnight. It remains an outlier in a mostly red day for crypto.
Source: coindesk.com
