Bitcoin is facing a continued decline on Wednesday, April 17, dropping by more than 3.84% to $61,309. The largest cryptocurrency globally has seen a decrease of over 8.81% in the past five days and more than 10.31% in the last month.
The Census Bureau of the Commerce Department reported a 0.7% rise in retail sales last month, with February’s data being revised upwards to show a stronger rebound of 0.9%. This marks the most significant increase in over a year, compared to the initially reported 0.6%.
In the midst of the Israel-Iran crisis, Bitcoin has tumbled nearly 8%, settling at $63,000 from its highs in March and April.
The global cryptocurrency market witnessed a 4.1% decrease in the last 24 hours, with the market capitalization reaching around $2.29 trillion.
Currently, the DeFi sector’s total volume amounts to \(9.35 billion, representing 7.92% of the entire cryptocurrency market’s 24-hour trading volume. On the other hand, stablecoins contribute \)110.24 billion, constituting 93.37% of the total 24-hour trading volume in the cryptocurrency market, according to CoinMarketCap.
During the same period, Bitcoin’s market capitalization fell to \(1.239 trillion, with Bitcoin’s dominance standing at 54.11%. Additionally, Bitcoin’s trading volume surged by 6.23% in the past 24 hours, reaching \)44.77 billion.
Following the escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel over the weekend, BTC appears to be trading cautiously around the halving news as its primary fundamental. A solid support level seems to have formed at $60k, with BTC continuing to outperform the majority of altcoins. CoinSwitch Markets Desk mentioned, “To put things into context, one of the most traded crypto-crypto non-stable pair – ETH/BTC has broken down its support at 0.05 BTC per ETH. This could technically go as lower as 0.04 meaning BTC could further continue to outperform Ethereum, and historically, all altcoins.”
Factors Influencing Bitcoin Prices:
- Investors are eagerly awaiting the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, scheduled to halve the token’s new supply around April 20. While historically this event has driven prices up, doubts have emerged this time due to Bitcoin reaching a historic high recently.
- Another contributing factor to the decline is the impact of stronger-than-expected US retail sales figures for March, which suggest that the US Federal Reserve may not rush to lower interest rates this year.
Hong Kong recently granted conditional approval for its first spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), signaling a significant move towards the city potentially becoming a leading force in embracing cryptocurrencies as a mainstream investment avenue. Despite the cryptocurrency ban in mainland China, Hong Kong is actively positioning itself as a global digital asset hub to strengthen its position as a financial center.
In response to an attack in Syria that led to the deaths of senior Iranian military personnel, Iran retaliated against Israel by launching attack drones and missiles, escalating the regional conflict. Digital assets are traded over the weekends, providing insights into potential market sentiment before traditional markets resume on Monday, though significant shifts may occur before trading resumes.
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Published: 17 Apr 2024, 09:23 PM IST
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