Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s leading digital asset, has lost substantial recent gains. The decline in Bitcoin’s price has reverberated across the entire crypto market, with other top assets losing a large percentage of their value. Companies whose stocks are associated with cryptocurrencies are also feeling the heat.
Bitcoin Price Outlook Drags Crypto Stocks
Bitcoin is stuck in the same flat-to-down price channel it picked up since reaching a record high of $73,750 seven months ago. The last time Bitcoin challenged the $70,000 level was in late July. After a few days, Bitcoin collapsed to less than $52,000.
As of this writing, BTC’s price was $67,137, down 2.05% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin’s recent price action demonstrates a substantial shortfall from previous records. In the current cycle, BTC rose to as high as $69,499, with analysts even forecasting the price will reach $70,655.
The ripple effect of Bitcoin’s price drop is hitting hard on crypto stocks. In the last 24 hours, crypto stocks like Coinbase’s COIN, MicroStrategy’s MSTR, and others have recorded dwindling prices. While COIN dropped by 4.6% of its value, MSTR decreased by 2.4% in just 24 hours.
Other crypto stocks affected by Bitcoin’s declining prices include Bitfarms, Riot platforms, Hut 8 Corp, and Marathon Digital. Bitfarms was down 2.5%, Riot 4%, HUT 3.2%, and MARA 5%.
Possible Reasons Why the Market is Falling Today?
Per current market data, the global crypto market plunged by 1.93% to $2.32 trillion. Across the broader market, top assets like Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and BNB are exhibiting a tempered outlook. One outlier, however, was Solana (SOL), which had a 3.7% gain to $165, though still down from its $170 weekend high.
Possible catalysts for today’s market include a sharp rise in interest rates across Western economies. Specifically, the US 10-year Treasury yield and the German 10-year Bund yield rose by 10 basis points.
In general, crypto prices have proven to be impacted by the same directional sentiment that impacts retail stock investors. Usually, the cost of capital increases when rates rise mainly due to monetary tightening aimed at combating inflation.
Consequently, risk assets like Bitcoin lose their appeal, resulting in a drop in their value as rates continue to grow.
Expectations on Catalysts to watch – Whales, ETF Boost
Amid the ongoing market trend, important catalysts could determine the future direction of Bitcoin’s price. First is the influence of Bitcoin whale actions.
On Sunday, October 20, Whale Alert spotted a dormant whale performing its first transaction after 13.4 years. The re-emergence of old BTC whales is a rather bearish sign that may precede a sell-off on the market.
The logic is that old holders are resurfacing to reap rewards. Many market participants fear that the emergence of more Bitcoin whale addresses could lead to a further downturn for Bitcoin.
The second factor to consider is the performance of US spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Bitcoin ETFs recorded $20.66 billion in net inflows between October 1 and 17. This recent surge in inflows shows that Bitcoin remains popular among institutional players. With this, BTC price could reclaim its previous high or even move high if it continues.