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why is crypto crashing

Bitcoin price fails to hold $20K again, but there is a silver lining

BTC’s attempt to recapture $20,000 as support failed, but on-chain data reveals a handful of positives.

Markets briefly flashed green on Sept. 27 as equities markets bounced back from Sept. 26’s pullback, bringing the Bitcoin (BTC) price back to the long-term descending trendline resistance, which currently resides at $20,100. 

Unfortunately for bulls, the positive momentum for stocks and cryptocurrencies rapidly eroded and Bitcoin price gave up a majority of the intraday gains as it slipped back below $19,000.

As has been the case since March 25, BTC price has been unable to kick above the resistance for more than a few hours and the Sept. 27 breakdown at the trendline continues the trend of successive bear flags that see a continuation to the downside.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

According to Arcane Research, Bitcoin’s tight rally above $20,000 is relatively insignificant, given that futures premiums are still low and it “contributes little to improving the market risk appetite.”

BTC perpetual contract funding rate versus Bitcoin price. Source: Arcane Research

Additional data from Arcane Research shows funding rates flipping neutral for the first time since Sept. 13, but generally, traders are reluctant to add longs, given the concerns over macro challenges and the continuous threat of unfriendly crypto regulation.

There is a silver lining

As mentioned in previous analysis, despite the breakouts and breakdowns, BTC price is simply trading within the exact same $24,300 to $17,600 range of the past 103 days. To date, a catalyst to set off a breakdown below swing lows or to push price above resistance and confirm the former hurdle as support has yet to occur.

Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom for Bitcoin. A positive bit of news comes from on-chain analytics provider Glassnode, who noted that more mature investors have decided to hunker down and hold their positions rather than sell at the current price.

According to the Revived Supply 1+ Years metric, an indicator that tracks the “total amount of coins that come back into circulation after being untouched for at least 1 year,” the flow of latent supply shifting back into the active supply pool is “extremely low.”

Revived Supply 1 year+ Z Score. Source: glassnode

The compression in mature spending seen in the last stages of the 2018 bull market is not present during the most recent revisits below $20,000, suggesting that long-term holders are well accustomed to volatility and unwilling to sell at the current prices.

Revived Supply 1 year+ Z Score. Source: glassnode

Given that BTC is 72% down from its all-time high and a portion of investors expect prices to crumble toward $10,000 in the next unexpected capitulation event, one could interpret the lack of panic selling from mature investors as positive.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Sui, Franklin Templeton launch ecosystem partnership

Why is the crypto market down today?

Crypto prices keep crashing, and it seems like there’s no bottom in sight. Here are three reasons why cryptocurrency prices keep falling.

Crypto prices keep falling, but why? This year’s market crash has turned most winning portfolios into net losers, and new investors are probably losing hope in Bitcoin (BTC).

Investors know that cryptocurrencies exhibit higher than average volatility, but this year’s drawdown has been extreme. After hitting a stratospheric all-time high at $69,400, Bitcoin price crumbled over the next 11 months to an unexpected yearly low at $17,600.

That’s a nearly 75% drawdown in value.

Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market capitalization, also saw an 82% correction as its price tumbled from $4,800 to $900 in seven months.

Years of historical data show that drawdowns in the 55%–85% range are the norm after parabolic bull market rallies, but the factors weighing on crypto prices today differ from those that triggered sell-offs in the past.

At the moment, investor sentiment remains soft as investors avoid risk and wait to see whether the Federal Reserve’s current monetary policy will alleviate persistently high inflation in the United States. On Sept. 21, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced a 0.75% interest rate hike and hinted that similar-size hikes would occur until inflation drops closer to the central bank’s 2% target.

Let’s take a deeper look at three reasons why crypto prices keep falling in 2022.

Federal Reserve interest rate hikes

Raising interest rates increases the cost of borrowing money for consumers and businesses. This has the knock-on effect of raising business operational costs, the costs of goods and services, production costs, wages, and eventually, the cost of nearly everything.

High, unsupressable inflation is the primary reason the United States Federal Reserve is raising interest rates. And since rate hikes began in March 2022, Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have been in a correction.

When monetary policy or metrics that measure the strength of the economy shift, risk assets tend to signal, or move, earlier than equities. In 2021, the Fed started signaling its plans to raise interest rates eventually, and data shows Bitcoin price sharply correcting by December 2021. In a way, Bitcoin and Ethereum were the canaries in the coal mine that signaled what lay ahead for equities markets.

If inflation begins to taper, the health of the economy improves, or the Fed begins to signal a pivot in its current monetary policy, risk assets like Bitcoin and altcoins could again be the “canaries in the coal mine” by reflecting the return of risk-on sentiment from investors.

The persistent threat of regulation

The cryptocurrency industry and regulators have a long history of not getting along either due to various misconceptions or mistrust over the actual use case of digital assets. Without a working framework for crypto sector regulation, different countries and states have a plethora of conflicting policies on how cryptocurrencies are classified as assets and precisely what constitutes a legal payment system.

The lack of clarity on this matter weighs on growth and innovation within the sector, and many analysts believe that the mainstreaming of cryptocurrencies cannot happen until a more universally agreed upon and understood set of laws is enacted.

Risk assets are heavily impacted by investor sentiment, and this trend extends to Bitcoin and altcoins. To date, the threat of unfriendly cryptocurrency regulations or, in the worst case, an outright ban continues to impact crypto prices on a nearly monthly basis.

Scams and Ponzis triggered liquidations and repeat blows to investor confidence

Scams, Ponzi schemes and sharp market volatility have also played a significant role in crypto prices crashing throughout 2022. Bad news and events that compromise market liquidity tend to cause catastrophic outcomes due to the lack of regulation, the youth of the cryptocurrency industry and the market being relatively small compared with equities markets.

The implosion of Terra’s LUNA and Celsius Network as well as misuse of leverage and client funds by Three Arrows Capital (3AC) were each responsible for successive blows to asset prices within the crypto market. Bitcoin is currently the largest asset by market capitalization in the sector, and historically, altcoin prices tend to follow whichever direction BTC price goes.

As the Terra and LUNA ecosystem collapsed on itself, Bitcoin price corrected sharply due to multiple liquidations occurring within Terra — and investor sentiment tanked.

The same happened with even greater magnitude when Voyager, 3AC and Celsius collapsed, erasing tens of billions in investor and protocol funds.

Related: Wen moon? Probably not soon: Why Bitcoin traders should make friends with the trend

What to expect for the rest of 2022 through 2023

The factors impacting falling prices within the crypto market are driven by Federal Reserve policy, meaning the Fed’s power to raise, pause or lower rates will continue to have a direct impact on Bitcoin price, ETH price and altcoin prices.

In the meantime, investors’ appetite for risk is likely to remain muted, and potential crypto traders might consider waiting for signs that U.S. inflation has peaked and for the Federal Reserve to begin using language that is indicative of a policy pivot.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content of product on this page. While we aim at providing you all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as an investment advice.

Sui, Franklin Templeton launch ecosystem partnership