Bitcoin prices saw a drop of more than 3% on Monday due to panic selling by investors ahead of a key macroeconomic week in the United States and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The crypto market recorded $200 million in liquidations of crypto assets, with nearly $150 million in long-term liquidations. Major altcoins are showing stronger resilience than this fall, amid altseason sentiment.
Bitcoin traders lost their grip on the market decline as the price of Bitcoin fell more than 3% to $63,249 today. The panic selling began after Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell nearly 5% when Prime Minister-to-be Shigeru Ishiba announced elections at the end of October. The Japanese yen strengthened and Japanese government bonds jumped on the news.
Overall sentiment remains strong as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains at "greed" with a reading of 61 today. The sudden drop in Bitcoin prices also fueled altseason speculation as top altcoins like ETH, SOL, and XRP only dropped a little over 1%.
This week markets will focus on key macroeconomic data related to the US, starting with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell scheduled to speak on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, the JOLTs job opening data and the ISM Manufacturing PMI will be released, which also triggered a selloff in the Bitcoin price today.
On Friday, the US Department of Labor will release non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate data for September. Market participants expect lower jobs data to prompt another 50 bps interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
This week will also see speeches by Fed officials, adding to the uncertainty in the stock and crypto markets.
BTC price fell 3% in the last 24 hours, with the current price trading at $63,641. The 24-hour lows and highs were $63,273 and $66,069, respectively. In addition, trading volume increased by 94% in the last 24 hours.
Coinglass data shows BTC futures open volume has also fallen by more than 1% in the past 24 hours. The main selling came from the CME, with BTC futures OI falling more than 3%. Crypto exchanges Binance and Bybit show buying by investors.
Meanwhile, CoinShares data reported that digital asset investment products posted total inflows of $1.2 billion last week, on expectations of the Fed's continued dovish monetary policy. Bitcoin recorded inflows of $1 billion, while Ethereum broke its five-week negative trend with inflows of $87 million.
