Crypto Markets Slide as Sentiment Echoes 2019, Analysts Say

Monday opened red for crypto markets, with the total market capitalization slipping below $4 trillion, down 3.7% today, as Bitcoin failed to hold last week’s gains, despite the Fed’s long-anticipated 25 basis points rate cut.

Data from The Defiant’s price page shows Bitcoin (BTC) trading near $112,800, down 2.5% on the day, after failing to stay above the $113,000 level and losing last week’s gains. Ethereum (ETH) saw a steeper drop of 6.4% on the day, and is currently trading near $4,190.

All of the top-30 tokens by market capitalization are solidly in the red today. Among the top-10 large-caps, the biggest losers today are Dogecoin (DOGE), down nearly 10%, and Solana (SOL), down over 7%. DOGE has reversed most of its gains from the past couple of weeks, after a surge driven by anticipation of the first spot exchange-traded fund for the asset, which launched last week after multiple delays.

Meanwhile, XRP is down over 5% today at $2.85, while BNB is down a more modest 3.9% on the day, but still up over 11% on the week — holding onto its gains from last week and still above the $1,000 mark.

Liquidations, ETFs and Macro

Analysts at Glassnode noted in an X post today that Bitcoin saw over $100 million in long liquidations as the price dropped below $115,000, triggering “clustered liquidation levels.” Liquidation heatmap data posted by Glassnode highlights concentrations around $113,000-$114,000, the analysts noted, adding that that range is “where leverage was most vulnerable.”

At the same time, analysts at blockchain analytics firm Keyrock noted in a Monday research report that the macro backdrop today “carries echoes of 2019,” when softening growth clashed with stubborn inflation signals and a labor market that was starting to wobble.

“That mix raises the risk of a stagflation, where weak growth collides with elevated prices, squeezing consumers and dragging on the broader economy. In such conditions, leaning too heavily on risk assets can leave portfolios vulnerable,” the analysts wrote in today’s report.

Among spot crypto ETFs, Bitcoin ETFs pulled in more than $886 million in fresh net inflows last week, while spot Ethereum ETFs over the same timeframe added another $556 million, per data from SoSoValue.

Over the past 24 hours, the market saw over $1.6 billion in leveraged positions liquidated, marking the largest liquidation day since March of this year.

The majority of liquidated positions were longs, triggered as prices dropped sharply today. The liquidations were concentrated around ETH, which led with over $503 million wiped out, followed by BTC at $287.6 million, while other altcoins saw $260 million in liquidations, Coinglass data shows.

On the macro front, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates 0.25% last week amid signs of a weakening labor market, analysts at Coinbase wrote in a Friday markets research piece that the current conditions “support a risk-on stance in markets—at least until further data emerges which may introduce additional nuance to the Fed’s forward guidance.”

In the meantime, in a Friday interview with CNBC, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari added that minimal long-term inflation pressure from tariffs could allow for multiple future rate reductions later this year.