WEEKLY WATCH - Cryptocurrency Market Dips as Bitcoin Slides, Triggers Sell-off in Altcoins

The cryptocurrency market saw a sharp correction on Monday, with Bitcoin and other major coins losing ground after reaching multi-month highs last week.

The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant pullback on Monday, as Bitcoin and other leading coins retreated from their recent highs.

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest and most influential cryptocurrency, fell -4.5% in the last 24 hours to trade around $42,400, after hitting $45,000 last week, the highest level since April 2022. The drop erased some of the gains made by Bitcoin in the past two months, when it rallied by more than 60% from its July low of $28,800.

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, slipped below $2,300, after reaching $2,384 last week, the highest point since May 2022. Ethereum has been showing resilience by staying above the $2,000 support level, despite the volatility in the market.

The decline in Bitcoin also dragged down other prominent cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Binance Coin, XRP, and Solana, which all posted losses of 4–6% over the past 24 hours.

Some analysts attributed the drop in the crypto market to macroeconomic factors, such as the strong U.S. economic data released on Friday, which boosted the dollar and dampened the demand for alternative assets. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate came in better than expected, signaling a recovery in the labor market. The market is also awaiting the next Federal Reserve decision, which could affect the sentiment and direction of the crypto market.

The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies fell by 4.9% in the last 24 hours, to $1.63 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. The total volume of the crypto market was $70.16 billion, of which 87.83% was contributed by stablecoins, such as Tether, USD Coin, and Binance USD. The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector also saw a decline in volume, to $9.38 billion, or 13.39% of the total market volume.