Global financial markets displayed a coordinated decline on Monday as investors awaited the forthcoming Federal Reserve minutes scheduled for Tuesday. Cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin and Ethereum, alongside precious metals such as gold and silver, registered notable retreats following recent rallies.
Bitcoin surged above the $90,000 mark in early trading sessions but was unable to maintain these levels, retracing to approximately $86,000. Trading activity in Bitcoin surged, with volume climbing 187% in the preceding 24-hour period, signaling heightened liquidity and active trader participation.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, also experienced a setback after attempting to break past the $3,000 threshold. It fell back to consolidate near $2,900, with its trading volume more than doubling within the same timeframe. Other digital assets like XRP and Dogecoin faced declines of 1.27% and 1.76%, respectively.
Companies linked to the crypto sector mirrored this weakness. Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) closed down 2.15%, while Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) fell 1.32% during regular trading hours.
Overall, the cryptocurrency market saw over $270 million liquidated over the past 24 hours, particularly affecting bullish long positions, which suffered approximately $160 million in wipeouts, based on data from Coinglass. Interestingly, Bitcoin’s open interest rose 0.52% despite the price drop, a pattern often interpreted as an increase in bearish positioning or short-selling activity.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index remained firmly in "Extreme Fear" territory, reflecting investor apprehension in the digital asset space.
In terms of individual performance among cryptocurrencies with market capitalizations exceeding $100 million, the 0x Protocol (ZRX) led gains over the last 24 hours with a 31.03% increase, followed by Pieverse (PIEVERSE) gaining 23.35% and RaveDAO (RAVE) rising 16.40%.
The overall market capitalization for cryptocurrencies settled at approximately $2.95 trillion, representing a 1% decrease across the 24-hour period.
Simultaneously, traditional financial markets also experienced downward pressure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 249.04 points or 0.51%, ending at 48,461.93. The S&P 500 dropped 0.35% to 6,905.74, and the technology-centric Nasdaq Composite eased 0.50%, closing at 23,474.35.
Commodities followed suit with silver retreating nearly 10% after earlier surges pushed it past $80 per ounce, a record high. Gold similarly pulled back more than 4% from its peak of $4,550 per ounce.
Market participants are closely monitoring Tuesday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes for insights into future monetary policy directions.
Amid these dynamics, Michaël van de Poppe, a widely regarded cryptocurrency analyst, identified an important technical pattern—a bullish divergence—between Bitcoin and gold. Van de Poppe noted that while gold’s prices declined, Bitcoin’s prices consolidated, signaling a potential shift in strength. He suggested this divergence could presage Bitcoin outperforming gold in the near term, indicating an impending “big rotation” within the markets.
Complementing this view, Darkfrost, from CryptoQuant’s on-chain analytics team, observed that long-term Bitcoin holders have recently reduced their sell-side activity. This has resulted in a net increase in Bitcoin supply controlled by these holders, even as short-term holders continue to accumulate. Historically, such behavioral shifts tend to precede periods of price consolidation or bullish price recoveries, contingent on prevailing broader market conditions.
Market Snapshot (as of 8:30 p.m. ET):
- Bitcoin (BTC): $87,054.88, down 1.03%
- Ethereum (ETH): $2,926.76, down 1.13%
- XRP (XRP): $1.84, down 1.27%
- Solana (SOL): $122.87, down 2.82%
- Dogecoin (DOGE): $0.1225, down 1.76%
- Strategy Inc. (MSTR): $154.99, down 0.26%
- Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN): $232.50, down 0.54%
The synchronized pullback in cryptocurrencies and precious metals, alongside cautious stock market movements, highlights investor sensitivity to impending monetary policy signals. Participant sentiment remains risk-averse, with trading volumes suggesting ongoing volatility and repositioning across asset classes.