Leading cryptocurrencies stagnated, while stocks fell on Wednesday due to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace talks.
| Cryptocurrency | 24-Hour Gains +/- | Price (Recorded at 9:30 p.m. EDT) |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) | +0.13% | $76,338.11 |
| Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) |
-0.29% | $2,275.54 |
| XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) | +0.03% | $1.37 |
| Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) | -0.01% | $83.86 |
| Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) | +7.62% | $0.1072 |
Crypto Liquidations Surge
Bitcoin remained volatile, dropping from an intraday high of $77,884 in the early hours to below $75,000 by afternoon. Trading volume spiked nearly 30% over the last 24 hours.
Ethereum hovered between $2,200 and $2,300 amid strong trading volume, while Dogecoin jumped over 7%.
Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed down 4.54% and 6.37%, respectively.
Over $550 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $345 million in long positions erased, according to Coinglass data.
Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell 0.88% over the last 24 hours, and more than 12% over a week. Binance derivatives traders, both retail and whale, stayed “Neutral” on the apex cryptocurrency.
Top Gainers (24 Hours)
| Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded at 9:30 p.m. EDT) |
| SKYAI (SKYAI) | +35.21% | $0.2861 |
| Unibase (UB) | +13.14% | $0.06655 |
| Terra Classic (LUNC) | +10.45% | $0.00006967 |
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.55 trillion, following a drop of 0.02% over the last 24 hours.
Stocks Drag On Fed Decision
Stocks retreated further on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 280.12 points, or 0.57%, to close at 48,861.81. The S&P 500 dipped 0.04% to end at 7,135.95, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite nudged up 0.04% to close at 24,673.24.
As widely expected, the Federal Reserve held the benchmark interest rate at 3.50-3.75%, stressing that “developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook.”
Oil prices, meanwhile, kept climbing. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO), which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil, closed up 7.90% to top $150, as U.S.-Iran talks hit a stalemate.
Too Early To Discuss Bull Cycle?
Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant noted that Bitcoin continues to be in bear market, citing the negative funding rates in the futures market. It added that a “stronger rebound” from the current levels is needed to establish a bullish bias.
Negative funding rate occurs when perpetual futures contracts trade below the underlying spot price, indicating that short traders are dominant and paying fees to long traders.
“While the current price range is undeniably cheap from a cycle perspective, there still appears to be insufficient evidence to conclude that we are at the point of transitioning into a new bull cycle.
Michaël van de Poppe, another prominent cryptocurrency commentator on X, highlighted Bitcoin’s “classic risk-off” move during the Fed decision and subsequent speech by Jerome Powell, with the lower timeframe uptrend structure intact.
“I do expect that we’ll see it continue to go up in May going into the next FOMC event as there will be a lot of hype and expectations with the new chairman,” Van De Poppe projected.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock/vinnstock
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