Bitcoin (BTC) plunged below $23,500 following the release of US durable goods orders data for January, which showed a fall of 4.5%, which caused concern among investors and traders regarding the possibility of inflation and interest rate hikes. On Tuesday, Ethereum (ETH), along with most digital assets, followed suit by trading in a sea of red numbers..
Data released Monday reportedly showed durable goods orders fell 4.5% in January, more than the 4% drop expected. Friday’s data on personal consumption spending (PCE) has also fueled fears that inflationary pressures will be more persistent than market participants expected.. In addition, US stocks fell sharply on Friday, ending their worst week of 2023 following rising inflation data.
These reports indicate further weakness as a new renewal in the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) hawkish bets on the interest rate rise in the coming days. The cryptocurrency market has been affected by the latest events, which have generated fear among investors and operators, who seem to move away from risky assets.
BITCOIN FALLS BELOW CRUCIAL $23.5K
According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin (BTC) fell 0.33% in the past 24 hours to trade at $23,287. The flagship token has plunged nearly 7% over the past seven days despite the medium-term trend being bullish. The recent drop in BTC prices is due to the hash rate increase and extensive participation from infrastructure providers, indicating that some miners may have been selling to cover costs amid the hash rate increase and The difficulty.
BTC.com recently reported that Bitcoin mining difficulty has increased by 9.95% following the last adjustment. Additionally, roughly $1.8 billion worth of Bitcoin options contracts expired last week, which may trigger volatility in BTC’s price movement in the short term. In a statement, Sathvik Vishwanath, Co-Founder and CEO of Unocoin said,
Breakfast News ????
RATING: ????????????Today will see the expiration of Bitcoin option contracts worth regarding $1.8 billion. pic.twitter.com/ltocKkFxxn
— The Bull’s Journal (@thebullsjournal) February 24, 2023
«Bitcoin struggled to break through the important resistance level of $23,750. The close of the candles below this level led to a bearish correction, potentially pushing the price of BTC lower towards the $22,800 mark..»
#Bitcoin #mining difficulty increased by 9.95% to 43.05T, a new record high! The average computing power of the whole network is 301.02EH/s#BTC #mine #POW @BTCTN @BitcoinMagazine @Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/8GiRtkxMrR
— ELLA_Citex (@citexpixie) February 25, 2023
ALTCOINS FALL IN TANDEM WITH THE GENERAL FINANCIAL MARKET
In tandem with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) also fell 0.78% to around $1,622. The second largest cryptocurrency has fallen more than 4% in the past week, showing a downward trend and is expected to end the week lower as investors avoid taking risks due to growing macroeconomic uncertainties.
Market experts believe that immediate support for Ethereum is at the $1,570 level. A break below this level might expose Ethereum price to the next support level at $1,515. However, a break above the $1,625 resistance level might push Ethereum price towards the next resistance level of $1,674.
Meanwhile, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization fell 0.57% in the last 24 hours following recent data from the United States government. Major altcoins followed the lead of the broader market, which was trading lower on Tuesday. Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT) and Polygon (MATIC) were down 2.59%, 1.97% and 2.33%, respectively.
Avalanche (AVAX) has plunged more than 3% in the last 24 hours and is trading at $17.45. At the same time, Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE) posted a marginal gain of 0.4% and 0.22% in the last day.
