Why Bitcoin Price Dropped Today? When Will It Recover?

Bitcoin price is officially in a bear market as it is now down over 20% after falling for three consecutive days this week. Investors pulled money out of the crypto market in anticipation of hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve retreat from three interest rate cuts this year.

Stagflation and sticky inflation concerns continue to mount amid no signs of slowing inflation and slow economic growth. The recent PCE data indicated persistent inflationary pressures and Q1 GDP growth of 1.6% showed stagflation. Today’s Fed monetary policy decision and Chair Jerome Powell are crucial for the stock and crypto markets as investors brace for market crash jitters.

A recovery in Bitcoin price and broader crypto market is expected when macro pressure eases, institutional buyers returns, and technical chart patterns show early signs of reversal.

Bitcoin Price Falls Over 10% to $56K

BTC price fell over 10% in a day amid panic selling by retail investors after institutional investors considered rising risks to stay away from risk assets. Bitcoin currently changing hands at $57,000. The 24-hour low and high are $56,555 and $62,121, respectively. Furthermore, the trading volume has increased by 70% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin is now down 22% from the all-time high of $73,803 in March, technically putting it in a bear market. But it is still up 35% year-to-date and double where it was this time last year due to large money inflow into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) since January. As demand wanes from spot Bitcoin ETF and investors didn’t see any factors for a recovery, they started booking profits, which triggered a broader crypto market selloff.

Macro Pressure Mounts

The US dollar index (DXY) rose to around 106.4 on Wednesday, marching again toward six-month highs as investors brace for key monetary policy decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged amid strong US economic data and hot inflation. However, traders are focusing more on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s guidance on rate cuts this year.

The US 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) also approached a 6-month high as it jumped further to 4.67%. It rose further after data showed US labor costs grew more than expected resonating that the Fed needs to keep interest rates higher for longer.

Bitcoin price moves in the opposite direction to DXY and US 10-Yr Treasury yield.

“The recent downtrend can be attributed to increased profit-taking by investors who entered the market during the downturns of 2022 and 2023, as well as ETF investors who witnessed significant price appreciation on their shares after entering the market in the early weeks of 2024,” said Fineqia research analyst Matteo Greco to Reuters.

Also Read: Binance Adds JTO, NFP, MANTA, & Others As Loanable Assets

Over $500 Billion Crypto Liquidation

The crypto market cap tumbled from $2.34 trillion to $2.13 trillion, causing investors to lose another $210 billion after a massive $250 billion liquidation in the last few days.

Coinglass data shows more than $475 million were liquidated across the crypto market in the selloff. Among them, $420 million long positions were liquidated and over $55 million short positions were liquidated.

Over 145K traders were liquidated and the largest single liquidation order happened on crypto exchange OKX as someone swapped ETH to USD valued at $6.07 million.

Analysts expect a major rally in Bitcoin price to start from below $50K and but whale accumulation could change the level for the rally near $54K, as per analyst Michael van de Poppe. The final recovery in the market could start after the May 31 options expiry.

Also Read:

• Crypto Prices Dip On May 1, Why Bitcoin Price Risks Crashing To $45-49K?
• Tron Founder Justin Sun Endorses Dogecoin, Shiba Inu & Other Meme Coins
• Ethereum Price: Whale Dumps $6M ETH Amid Crypto Crash