The cryptocurrency market fell in value on Sunday and continued to fall Monday morning as investors dumped risky assets.
According to data from CoinGecko, the overall value of cryptocurrencies has fallen by about $367 billion, driven by a 15% drop in bitcoin over the past 24 hours and a 22% drop in ether. The market recovered later in the day. The plunge in cryptocurrency prices has led to more than $1.13 billion in liquidations in derivatives markets, according to crypto data firm Coinglass.
The cryptocurrency market’s slide coincided with a broader decline in stocks across Asia-Pacific. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 12%, extending losses that began last week after the Bank of Japan said it would raise its benchmark interest rate to a 16-year high. It was the worst day for the index since the “Black Monday” crash in 1987.
In the United States, the Nasdaq fell 3.4% last week into correction territory, ending the tech-heavy index’s worst three-week streak since September 2022, when the market was in freefall. Amazon And Nvidia contributed to the decline. The index fell another 3.4% on Monday.
Bitcoin and Ether are leading the sales in the cryptocurrency market.
The stock market slide last week was partly due to disappointing financial results, a weaker-than-expected jobs report, rising unemployment and a declining manufacturing sector. The U.S. Federal Reserve chose to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged and did not promise a rate cut in September, something many market pundits had factored into their forecasts. Lower interest rates tend to correlate with better performance for risky assets.
BitcoinBitcoin price hit its lowest level since February and briefly fell below the $50,000 threshold to $49,111.10. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is trading just below $51,000. It is still up nearly 17% this year.
The price of etherthe native token that underpins the Ethereum blockchain, fell to around $2,200 and erased its gains for the year. Binance’s BNB token fell 20% and Solana is trading 22% lower.
Investors are also awaiting new trade data from China and Taiwan this week, as well as central bank decisions in India and Australia.
The latest wave of cryptocurrencies will be felt by a broader base of investors after the SEC approved new cash exchange-traded funds for bitcoin and ether this year. The ETFs have seen hundreds of millions of dollars flow into these cryptocurrencies.
On Friday, CNBC reported that Morgan Stanley will soon allow its 15,000 financial advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs to clients, a first for Wall Street.
WATCH: Bitcoin Fluctuates Amid Market Selloff
