It was a mixed session for the crypto market on Tuesday, with the total market cap falling to a new current year low before market conditions steadied.
It was a mixed session for the crypto market on Tuesday. While the broader crypto market ended an extended losing streak, the bitcoin (BTC) fell for an eighth consecutive day.
The eighth day in the red saw bitcoin fall to a new current-year low of $20,838 before a partial recovery to $22,000. Bitcoin last stood at sub-$21,000 in December 2020.
Helium (HNT) was a front runner, while Monero (XMR) and Tron (TRX) saw heavy losses.
Dip buyers delivered much-needed support ahead of the Fed’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday, which has weighed on the crypto market.
Following Monday’s $130.6 billion wipeout, the total crypto market cap fell by just $3.6 billion on Tuesday.
Significantly, however, the market cap fell to a new current-year low of $858.6 billion before returning to $900 billion. Tuesday’s decline marked the eighth consecutive daily fall.
For June alone, the total crypto market cap is currently down $379 billion, following a $380 billion tumble in May and a $375 billion slump in April.
While the crypto market found support on Tuesday, downside risks remain as the market looks ahead to the Fed monetary policy decision on Wednesday.
The markets have priced in a 50 basis point rate hike. A hike in line with expectations would leave investors to focus on the Fed’s inflation, GDP, and interest rate projections.
Investor fear of a more aggressive rate path trajectory has hit riskier assets. An upward revision to the March projections will likely further test the appetite for riskier assets.
Other market considerations include plans to roll out more stringent regulatory measures and the stability of stablecoins.
On Tuesday, TRX came under selling pressure as investors reacted to algorithmic stablecoin USDD losing its dollar peg. TRX slumped by 12.9% on Tuesday, following a 16.1% slide on Monday.
From the top ten cryptos, ADA (+3.88%), SOL (+3.46%), and XRP (+3.41%) led the way.
BNB (+0.09%) and DOGE (+2.69%) also found support.
BTC slid by a further 1.58% to lead the way down, however, with ETH ending the day with a 0.02% loss to buck the broader market trend.
From the CoinMarketCap top 100, Monero (XMR) joined TRX in the deep red, with a loss of 10.83%.
Following Tuesday’s spike, total liquidations eased going into the Wednesday session.
According to Coinglass, 24-hour liquidations stood at $578 million, down from $1,070 million levels on the day prior. While down from Tuesday levels, however, 24-hour liquidation levels remained elevated.
One-hour liquidations pointed to a steadying in market cap conditions, with one-hour liquidations at $7.7 million.
With over 28 years of experience in the financial industry, Bob has worked with various global rating agencies and multinational banks. Currently he is covering currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes and global equities, focusing mostly on European and Asian markets.