Bitcoin (BTC) and several key cryptocurrencies faced a downturn as Thursday’s rally was met with profit-taking during the Asian morning hours on Friday, a move that aligns with market predictions. The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization plummeted by 3.2% within a 24-hour period, with Bitcoin slipping from $86,000 to below $84,000. Ethereum (ETH) also experienced a decline, dropping beneath the $2,000 mark, while Solana’s SOL decreased by 5%.
XRP has exhibited steady declines, with Wednesday’s significant 10% spike now reflecting a more modest 4.8% overall gain on a weekly basis. Conversely, BNB Chain’s BNB has shown resilience, edging higher and accumulating over 8% in weekly gains. At the time of writing, Tron’s TRX and TON have emerged as the only major tokens experiencing growth, both increasing by 2%.
Notably, TRX was launched on the Solana network for the first time late Thursday, a strategic move intended to broaden its user base. Similarly, TON has seen a surge in retail demand following announcements from the Toncoin Foundation regarding venture capital firms holding over $400 million in assets after recent investments.
The market received a brief upside catalyst from Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which had been eagerly anticipated by traders. The meeting propelled Bitcoin past the $85,000 threshold, as no rate cuts were announced. However, the Federal Reserve indicated a scaling back of its quantitative tightening program starting in April, a move that traders may interpret as a covert rate cut, per observations from Singapore-based QCP Capital in a recent Telegram broadcast.
Dr. Sean Dawson, head of research at the on-chain options platform derive.xyz, indicated a positive shift in market sentiment. “The chance of BTC reaching above $100K by June 30 has increased from 20% to nearly 30% in the last 24 hours,” he shared in an email to CoinDesk. Conversely, the probability of ETH staying above the $2,000 mark by the same date has diminished to a coin flip, down from 40% just one day prior. Dawson highlighted that nearly 60% of ETH options traded on Derive.xyz over the last 24 hours were calls, a testament to bullish sentiment. For Bitcoin, 34% of transaction volume consisted of purchases, indicating a defensive posture among traders.
Meanwhile, FxPro’s Alex Kuptsikevich has pointed to the $80,000 support level as a key area to monitor. He expressed a cautious outlook, stating, “It’s important to note that the crypto market has yet to break above its 200-day moving average, currently hovering around $2.9 trillion. A significant rally above this threshold could trigger an active buying phase, yet there remains a risk of bears setting a trap, as has occurred multiple times in the past.”
Kuptsikevich emphasized the importance of Bitcoin maintaining its momentum. “For Bitcoin to sustain its momentum, it is crucial to remain above this key level. If it does achieve this, it could ignite renewed interest in purchasing a range of coins that have been navigating a correction phase for some time,” he added, alluding to broader altcoin and memecoin markets.
