Bitcoin (BTC), the oldest and most valued cryptocurrency in the world, slid below the $27,000 mark, lending a gloomy outlook to the overall market early Friday. This was primarily caused due to inflation concerns raised in the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. It is also believed that the declining state of the Chinese economy and SpaceX marking down its BTC holdings might have played a role. Other popular altcoins — including the likes of Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), and Solana (SOL) — landed in the reds across the board.
The global crypto market cap stood at $1.06 trillion at the time of writing, registering a 24-hour loss of 6.76 percent.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today
Bitcoin price stood at $26,361.86, registering a 24-hour dip of 8.02 percent, as per CoinMarketCap. According to Indian exchange WazirX, BTC price stood at Rs 23.80 lakh.
Ethereum (ETH) Price Today
ETH price stood at $1,675.36 marking a 24-hour loss of 6.78 percent at the time of writing. As per WazirX, Ethereum price in India stood at Rs 1.48 lakh.
Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Today
DOGE registered a 24-hour dip of 10.98 percent, as per CoinMarketCap data, currently priced at $0.06071. As per WazirX, Dogecoin price in India stood at Rs 5.40.
Litecoin (LTC) Price Today
Litecoin saw a 24-hour loss of 14.48 percent. At the time of writing, it was trading at $64.31. LTC price in India stood at Rs 5,679.
Ripple (XRP) Price Today
XRP price stood at $0.4906, seeing a 24-hour dip of 17.03 percent. As per WazirX, Ripple price stood at Rs 44.
Solana (SOL) Price Today
Solana price stood at $21.53, marking a 24-hour loss of 8.16 percent. As per WazirX, SOL price in India stood at Rs 1,949.97
Top Crypto Gainers Today (August 18)
As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto gainers over the past 24 hours:
Pax Dollar (USDP)
Price: $0.9982
24-hour gain: 0.20 percent
Tether USDT (USDT)
Price: $0.9999
24-hour gain: 0.11 percent
Binance USD (BUSD)
Price: $1
24-hour gain: 0.07 percent
USD Coin (USDC)
Price: $1
24-hour gain: 0.01
Top Crypto Losers Today (August 18)
As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto losers over the past 24 hours:
Conflux (CFX)
Price: $0.1287
24-hour loss: 19.15 percent
Ripple (XRP)
Price: $0.4884
24-hour loss: 17.34 percent
ApeCoin (APE)
Price: $1.50
24-hour loss: 16.41 percent
Litecoin (LTC)
Price: $64.29
24-hour loss: 14.32 percent
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Price: $179.88
24-hour loss: 14.28 percent
What Crypto Exchanges Are Saying About Current Market Scenario
Mudrex co-founder and CEO Edul Patel told ABP Live, “Bitcoin underwent a significant price drop, nearing the $25,000 threshold before finding stability at approximately $26,000. The driving forces behind this decline may stem from several origins. Noteworthy among them is the news suggesting that SpaceX has marked down its BTC holdings by a substantial $373 million. The recently disclosed minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee also played a role, as they revealed concerns over inflation and signalled a potential requirement for interest rate increases. Concerns regarding China's economy could have contributed to the price shift. On a different note, Ethereum maintains its position above $1,600 in the trading market.”
Parth Chaturvedi, Investments Lead, CoinSwitch Ventures, said, “The crypto market has continued to sharply fall for the second consecutive day. As per CoinGecko, the global crypto market capitalization is down 6.1 percent in the last 24 hours and is currently around $1.1 trillion for the first time in two months. The mass sell-off in the crypto market has led to a plunge in the crypto fear and greed index, which is down 13 points and has entered the fear zone after over 5 months, with a score of 37/100.”
Rajagopal Menon, Vice President, WazirX, offered his take, “Bitcoin experienced an 8 percent decline during a notable retail sell-off following news of Elon Musk divesting a portion of his virtual digital holdings. This occurrence also triggered a decrease in liquidations. Additionally, market observers are anticipating potential interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Compounding the situation, the US treasury yield surged to a 16-year peak, exerting downward pressure on the values of prominent cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and certain alternative coins that had previously been exhibiting upward momentum.”
Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO and co-founder of Unocoin, said, “Current bitcoin price is around $26,400. Bitcoin's recent drop below $27,000 indicates a bearish move with the potential for further declines to $26,000. A break at $26,000 could lead to a deeper decline towards $24,840. Conversely, a positive rally above $30,000 could push the price of Bitcoin to $31,700.Ethereum is trading around $1,678.”
Shivam Thakral, the CEO of BuyUCoin, said, “The last 24 hours have seen a lot of action on the cryptocurrency market, with an alarming total volume of $65.1 billion, representing an incredible rise of 76.81 percent. Over the past 24 hours, cryptocurrency traders have lost $1 billion in liquidations as a result of one of the largest sell-offs of the year in the digital asset markets and a two-month low in the price of Bitcoin.”
Subscribe And Follow ABP Live On Telegram: t.me/officialabplive
Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.