Hello Asia, the markets today are painting a deep shade of red.
Bitcoin fell to a five-month low on Wednesday, briefly falling below $100,000 as investors reacted to the prolonged U.S. government shutdown and new signs of slowing growth.
Ether led the losses, falling more than 12% to $3,179. The decline leaves Bitcoin near its lowest level since May, about 20% below its early October peak above $126,000, as enthusiasm fades and liquidity dwindles.
Liquidations are accelerating. According to CoinGlass data, approximately $2.09 billion worth of crypto positions were wiped in the last 24 hours, with $1.68 billion coming from long positions. The figure remains well below October’s record $19 billion, but traders have become more cautious since the rout.
Markus Thielen, CEO of 10X Research, told Cryptonews: “The problem today is not excessive leverage on futures contracts, but the withdrawal of long position holders. »
“Powell’s signal that a December rate cut is not guaranteed removed a key pillar of sentiment just as mega-whale selling began to outweigh whale buying, a dynamic that emerged immediately after the FOMC meeting,” he added.
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Bitcoin: $101,464, down 4.8%
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Ether: $3,310, down 9%
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XRP: $2.22, down 5.3%
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Total crypto market capitalization: $3.45 trillion, down 4.8%
Market structure trends continue to favor Bitcoin over smaller tokens. Analyst Benjamin Cowen predicts that altcoins could fall another 30% against Bitcoin in the coming weeks, as investors rush into the biggest asset near the $100,000 level. Bitcoin dominance reached 60.15% as risk appetite narrowed.
Elsewhere, US stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday after major banks warned of a possible pullback.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their biggest one-day declines since Oct. 10, with tech weakness setting the tone as the market reassessed strained valuations linked to the artificial intelligence boom.
Executives at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs warned of bubble risks after a series of all-time highs for the S&P 500.
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon previously warned of a significant correction risk over the next six months to two years, citing geopolitical tensions.
The government shutdown, caused by congressional gridlock, is nearing a record 36 days. With official statistics on hold, investors are relying on private indicators such as ADP’s national employment report due Wednesday, while scanning Federal Reserve comments for policy signals in the data vacuum.
