Bitcoin briefly rose above $98,000 before falling. Altcoins also saw significant declines over the past day.
BTC Stopped at $98K
The primary cryptocurrency experienced a volatile start to the previous business week, with several $10,000 swings causing significant price changes following Trump's tariffs against China, Mexico, and Canada. The asset calmed later and attempted to reclaim the $100,000 level on Friday but faced rejection. This led to a decline to $96,000, where it spent most of the weekend. Bulls tried to regain control on Monday and Tuesday, pushing bitcoin to a multi-day peak of just over $98,000. However, the bearish sentiment prevailed, causing a drop to $95,000. As of now, it has added roughly $1,000 to sit at $96,000, with further volatility expected alongside the release of US CPI figures for January. Its market capitalization has decreased to $1.910 trillion, while its dominance over altcoins has returned to 58.5%.
Alts Back in Red
As is typically the case during such downturns, altcoins have suffered even more. The biggest daily losers from the larger-cap altcoins include SUI (-8%), HBAR (-8%), AVAX (-7%), XLM (-6%), LINK (-5.5%), and DOGE (-5%). Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, and Solana are also in the red, but to a lesser extent. Meanwhile, mid-cap altcoins such as ENA, TIA, and KAS have plunged by double digits. The cumulative market cap of all crypto assets has lost over $80 billion in a day and now sits well below $3.3 trillion.
Market Impact and CPI Expectations
The sudden changes in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have led to increased market volatility. The upcoming release of the US Consumer Price Index data is expected to play a crucial role in determining the future direction of the cryptocurrency market.
The recent events highlighted the instability of the crypto market, especially among altcoins. Upcoming US inflation data could be key to determining the market's next move.
