Cryptocurrencies experienced a sharp decline as the week began in Asia, reflecting a distinct risk-off sentiment across the financial markets.
Bitcoin lost approximately 7% of its value from Sunday night to Monday morning in Singapore, hitting a low of $77,077. Meanwhile, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell to $1,538, reaching an intra-day low that hasn’t been seen since October 2023. Fortunately, both Bitcoin and Ether were able to recover some of their losses later on.
This downturn coincides with US President Donald Trump’s firm stance on extensive tariffs, which have already erased trillions from US stock values. US equity-index futures dropped, and the yen strengthened, indicating growing instability in the financial markets.
“There was a moment when it appeared crypto could maintain stability, but due to the round-the-clock nature of the crypto markets, investors shifted to a ‘sell mode’ by Sunday,” noted Charlie Sherry, head of finance and crypto analyst at BTC Markets, in a research note.
According to Coinglass data, around $758 million in bullish crypto positions were liquidated over the last 24 hours, marking the highest figure in nearly six weeks.
Options markets indicate that selling pressure may persist, “with the skew for puts significantly increasing,” said Sean McNulty, head of APAC derivatives at digital-asset prime brokerage FalconX. He pointed out that critical support levels for Bitcoin and Ether stand at $75,000 and $1,500, respectively.
Earlier, digital assets had shown some resilience to the market panic triggered by Trump’s initial announcement of the tariff program, suggesting a potential decoupling from the tech stock trend. However, Monday’s selloff indicates that the strong positive correlation between crypto assets and the Nasdaq 100, which has persisted since the Covid-19 pandemic, may continue. “Crypto often acts as a leading indicator for risk assets,” remarked Julia Zhou, COO at crypto market maker Caladan. “Expect to see sharper corrections once US equities open today.”
