Cryptocurrencies plunged on Tuesday as Bitcoin extended its recent losses and investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision.
The price is Bitcoin Bitcoin was last down 3% at $67,582.34, according to Coin Metrics, extending a decline that began when Bitcoin retreated from $70,000 levels on Friday. Earlier in the day, it fell to $66,140.67.
ether It fell 4.8% to $3,496.32. Overall, cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks posted losses. Coin library and micro strategy Both fell more than 2%.
Bitcoin’s losses may have been triggered by a prolonged wave of liquidations, which forced traders to sell assets at market prices to pay off debt. According to CoinGlass, $56 million worth of long Bitcoin liquidations occurred across centralized exchanges in the past 24 hours.
The market saw another $56 million in long Bitcoin liquidations on Thursday ahead of a better-than-expected U.S. May jobs report. Bitcoin fell back below $70,000 after briefly testing this level at the beginning of the month.
Bitcoin falls below $67,000
Like stock market investors, cryptocurrency traders are concerned that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates this year. The central bank has begun a two-day policy meeting, with a decision expected on Wednesday.
“When stocks sell off, other risk assets follow suit,” said Bartosz Lipiński, CEO of cryptocurrency trading platform Cube. Larger concerns about the long-term impact of higher interest rates are starting to take hold.”
“Looking at options positioning, the long-term expectation is for upside,” he added. “But for now, we’re likely to continue to see volatility until we get a clearer picture of the Fed’s plans for the rest of the year.”
Lipinski also said Tuesday and Friday’s sell-offs were further evidence of the market’s continued “malaise.”
“While spot ETH ETFs appear to be on the verge of entering the U.S. market, there is no real catalyst to push prices higher,” he said. “Bitcoin’s fundamentals are strong and ETFs have accumulated supply, but market sentiment has yet to catch up.”
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