Bitcoin Dumps 5% in an Hour, Why Are Crypto Markets Tanking?

The largest digital asset crashed almost 5% in just over an hour, slumping from $43,800 to an intraday low of $41,780 during the Asian trading session on Monday, Dec. 11.

At the time of writing, BTC was changing hands for around $42,300, which still puts it up 3.7% from the same time last week. 

The big slide comes after a solid rally, adding 65% to the price of Bitcoin since the middle of October when it was trading for around $26,800.

“After its eight straight green weeks, Bitcoin is finally taking a breather,” observed macroeconomics outlet the Kobeissi Letter. 

JUST IN: Bitcoin prices just fell over 5% in a matter of minutes, hitting as low as $41,500.

After its eight straight green week, Bitcoin is finally taking a breather.

Interestingly, the decline also comes at a time of low volume and liquidity.

We have seen similar large… pic.twitter.com/CGcHvaEWcp

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) December 11, 2023

Bitcoin Price Drop 

On Dec. 11, crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant asked what data had changed before the BTC price correction.

The stablecoin supply ratio (SSR) has reached a two-year high, it reported. This means that “Bitcoin is perceived as having greater value compared to stablecoins, showing that market participants are placing higher value on Bitcoin.”

There is more than 50% of the circulating supply in profit. This metric has previously signaled distribution “either to a local top or a major top for BTC,” it noted. 

“Despite the overall bullish sentiment, a significant subset remains underwater,” in the long-term holders’ resistance, it reported. 

Furthermore, this week is a big macro week with a number of central banks, including the Federal Reserve, announcing interest rate decisions. Derivatives platform, Greeks Live, commented: 

“With most of the forecasted data now supporting no rate hike, with all major asset classes now adjusting their pricing for the impending end of the rate hike cycle,”

Analyst “CrediBULL Crypto” suggested that a V-reversal may take place after a few days of consolidation. 

Whenever we get major flushes at this stage of the market, V-reversals are going to be a lot more common than a typical “sideways basing period” that we have gotten used to seeing.

We probably get something like below to wrap up this correction. That is, non impulsive… https://t.co/gBMRqRVzKJ pic.twitter.com/eH3m0G71oR

— CrediBULL Crypto (@CredibleCrypto) December 11, 2023

Elsewhere on Crypto Markets 

Total capitalization has shed around $80 billion, or 4% over the past few hours in a fall to $1.65 trillion. However, it still remains up 13% over the past month. 

Ethereum has taken a bigger hit with a 4.7% slide to hit $2,242 during early trading in Asia this Monday. 

The altcoins were also in a sea of red, with larger losses for XRP, Cardano, Polkadot, and Chainlink. Avalanche (AVAX) is bucking the trend with a 7.8% gain on the day.