Bitcoin (BTC) saw a sharp decline during Asian trading hours on Monday, dipping below the $50,000 mark before making a slight recovery to nearly $53,000. This drop marks the lowest point since mid-February, driven by growing tensions in the Middle East and increasing concerns about the global economy’s stability, which have shaken investor confidence.
The world’s leading cryptocurrency has now fallen for the fourth consecutive day, with TradingView data showing a drop to as low as $49,112. Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, wasn’t spared either, sinking to $2,060, its lowest since January 3rd. The CoinDesk 20 index, which monitors some of the most liquid non-stablecoin tokens, also saw a near 20% decline.
Ether’s almost 25% slide is its worst single-day performance since May 2021, spurred by rumors of crypto market maker Jump Trading liquidating assets. On-chain analysis by spotonchain identified a wallet, reportedly linked to Jump Trading, transferring 17,576 ETH—valued at over $46 million—to centralized exchanges, signaling potential liquidation.
The sell-off led to over $1 billion in liquidations within the crypto futures market, with Ether alone accounting for over $350 million—a rare and significant occurrence.
This wave of panic selling in the cryptocurrency market is largely a reaction to broader financial market downturns, as fears of a global recession and escalating tensions in the Middle East push investors to seek safer assets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plummeted 12.4%, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 2.8%, and S&P 500 micro futures fell 2.9%.
The crypto fear and greed index, which tracks market sentiment, has now entered “fear” territory, reaching its lowest level since early July. The index measures factors like volatility, prices, and social media activity to gauge whether investors are fearful—typically a sign of market bottoms—or overly optimistic, often signaling market tops.
