Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s oldest and most-valued cryptocurrency, saw a massive sell-off as its price dipped below the $20,000 mark over the weekend, after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted that the US central bank might keep raising interest rates and keep them elevated for some time in order to stamp out inflation. Most other popular altcoins, including the likes of Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Solana (SOL), also saw a bloodbath, registering losses across the board. Among lesser-known altcoins, the eCash (XEC) token emerged to be the biggest gainer, seeing a nearly 40 percent rise in value over the last 24 hours.


At the time of writing, the global crypto market cap lost its $1-trillion mark and stood at $956.93 billion as per CoinMarketCap data, registering a 24-hour dip of 1.09 percent. 


Bitcoin (BTC) price today


BTC was priced at $19,851.89 at the time of writing. As per CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin saw a 24-hour loss of 0.81 percent. As per Indian exchange WazirX, BTC price stood at Rs 16.64 lakhs.


Ethereum (ETH) price today


ETH price stood at $1,454.69, marking a 24-hour loss of 2.60 percent at the time of writing. As per WazirX, Ethereum price in India stood at Rs 1.22 lakhs.


Dogecoin (DOGE) price today


DOGE registered a 24-hour dip of 2.15 percent as per CoinMarketCap data, currently priced at $0.06211. As per WazirX, Dogecoin price in India stood at Rs 5.40.


Litecoin (LTC) price today


Litecoin saw a 24-hour gain of 4.03 percent. At the time of writing, it was priced at $55.12. LTC price in India stood at Rs 4,377.


Ripple (XRP) price today


XRP price stood at $0.3235, seeing a 24-hour dip of 3.35 percent. As per WazirX, Ripple price stood at Rs 27.30.


Solana (SOL) price today


Solana price stood at $30.72, marking a 24-hour dip of 2.28 percent. As per WazirX, SOL price in India stood at Rs 2,705.20.


Top crypto gainers today (August 29)


As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto gainers over the past 24 hours:


eCash (XEC)


Price: $0.00005147
24-hour gain: 39.30 percent


Synthetix (SNX)


Price: $3.08
24-hour gain: 7.09 percent


Litecoin (LTC)


Price: $55.07
24-hour gain: 3.97 percent


PancakeSwap (CAKE)


Price: $3.86
24-hour gain: 3.42 percent


IoTeX (IOTX)


Price: $0.03343
24-hour gain: 3.28 percent


Top crypto losers today (August 29)


As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto losers over the past 24 hours:


Avalanche (AVAX)


Price: $18.31
24-hour loss: 8.10 percent


Chiliz (CHZ)


Price: $0.2082
24-hour loss: 6.27 percent


EOS (EOS)


Price: $1.45
24-hour loss: 5.81 percent


Flow (FLOW)


Price: $1.72
24-hour loss: 5.59 percent


STEPN (GMT)


Price: $0.6533
24-hour loss: 5.17 percent


What crypto exchanges are saying about the crypto market scenario


Mudrex co-founder and CEO Edul Patel told ABP Live, “After the Fed announcement to increase the interest rates, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most cryptocurrencies couldn't resume gains. Bitcoin fell below its threshold at $19,000 in the past 24 hours as selling pressure increased. Investors are keenly looking for improvement in the market, but there has not been little change. If BTC's price closes below the $19,500 level today, we could see it going even lower. The second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, is facing a continuation of sell-offs as its price has decreased considerably. Overall, the underlying sentiment suggests a downward trend in the coming week.”


Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO and co-founder of Unocoin said, “The weekend created a bloodbath, similar to last weekend. However, this weekend's action was due to Fed's chair revelation and increasing interest rates that have become detrimental to the crypto market. On the other hand, the fear that about 137,000 BTC obtained as compensation by various early Bitcoiners whose money got struck with Mt. Gox when it got hacked and shut down in 2013 could get dumped on the market all at once. The tension created pushed the prices down as much as 10-12 percent on various top cryptos. By the end of Sunday, there was a small recovery of 1-2 percent, but that is insignificant to move the needle.”


weTrade founder Prashant Kumar offered his take on the market scenario as well, "The global market cap continues to remain below $1 trillion as major cryptocurrencies see a drastic fall over the weekend. As concerns over the federal reserve’s rate hike loom, Bitcoin, which has the largest market share, fell below the $20,000 mark which is the lowest it has been in over a year. Ethereum, on the other hand, also saw an approximately 10 percent decline and is currently below $1,500. With prevailing global macroeconomic conditions, stock markets and foreign exchanges across the world are also in similar positions.”



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.