Bitcoin, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies have fallen sharply, plunging the bitcoin price back under the closely-watched $40,000 per bitcoin level.
The bitcoin price has bounced around $40,000 for most of 2022 as the bulls and the bears battle it out for control of the market. Meanwhile, the ethereum price has dropped under $3,000 per ether for the first time since mid-March.
The combined crypto market has lost almost $400 billion since early April, as top ten cryptocurrencies including Binance’s BNB, Ripple’s XRP, solana, cardano, luna and avalanche struggle—with analysts warning a “disaster in the financial markets” could push bitcoin under $30,000.
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“The signal for a break of the mild upward trend would be a consolidation below the $38,000 per bitcoin levels,” Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst, wrote in emailed comments. “If the bulls capitulate, the first cryptocurrency could be pushed into the $32,o00 to $35,000 range without much resistance.”
The bitcoin and crypto sell-off comes as U.S. stock market futures declined ahead of the Monday’s opening after a long holiday weekend, with investors bracing for a week of major first-quarter earnings reports and speeches by Federal Reserve policy-makers.
Last week, March’s consumer price index reading showed an 8.5% increase from a year ago, the fastest annual gain since December 1981. Fed officials have promised to do whatever it takes to bring inflation under control.
“We are increasingly concerned about a summer of turbulence and volatility,” Eric Robertsen, chief strategist at Standard Chartered, wrote in a note that was first reported by Bloomberg.
“A consolidation scenario below $30,000 would require an absolute disaster in the financial markets,” added Kuptsikevich.
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Last week, Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, revealed he fears the price of bitcoin and ethereum could fall much further in coming months. Hayes expects the bitcoin price to crash to $30,000 over the next two months, with the ethereum price falling as low as $2,500 per ether.
“Bitcoin and ethereum will bottom well before the Fed acts and U-turns its policy from tight to loose,” he wrote in a blog post, adding he’s betting on a bitcoin and ethereum price “crash” by June.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2022/04/18/absolute-disaster-serious-crypto-price-crash-warning-issued-after-bitcoin-ethereum-bnb-xrp-solana-cardano-luna-and-avalanche-go-into-free-fall/