Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Pare Losses Even As 'Extreme Fear' Prevails: Top Analyst Has This To Say About Buying The Dip

Leading cryptocurrencies pared some of their losses Tuesday from the morning crash even as the market slipped into "Extreme Fear" mode.

Cryptocurrency	Gains +/-	Price (Recorded at 7:30 p.m. ET)
Bitcoin BTC/USD	-3.84%	$88,102.58
Ethereum ETH/USD	-0.65%	$2,472.27
Dogecoin DOGE/USD	-0.14%	$0.2093

What Happened: Bitcoin tanked to an intraday low of $86,008.23, its lowest since Nov. 12, before recovering to the early $88,000s as traders bought the dip. The leading cryptocurrency was down 13.43% in February, headed toward its worst February since 2014.

Ethereum also recovered from its dramatic drop to $2,339 earlier this morning, climbing beyond $2,500 by the evening. Month-to-date, the second-largest cryptocurrency has lost over 24%.

Nearly $1.07 billion was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with bullish bets accounting for over $873 million.

Bitcoin's Open Interest dropped by 5.06% in the last 24 hours, with short positions rising vis-à-vis long positions.

The market went into the "Extreme Fear" zone, according to the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a sign that investors were too worried.

Top Gainers (24-Hours)

Cryptocurrency	Gains +/-	Price (Recorded at 7:30 p.m. ET)
Story (IP)	+21.69%	$5.70
Quant (QNT)	+15.42%	$99.86
Maker (MKR)	+12.81%	$1,621.34

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.91 trillion, contracting 2.49% in the last 24 hours.

Blue-chip stocks cracked for the second straight day of the week. The S&P 500 slid 0.47% to close at 5,955.25 The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.35%, ending at 19,026.39 The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the silver lining, gaining 0.37% to close at 43,621.16.

The tech decline was led by Tesla Inc. TSLA which tanked 8.39% during the session. Bitcoin-related stocks like Strategy Inc. MSTR bled over 11%.

The market was jittery as President Donald Trump reaffirmed earlier this week that tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico would take effect as planned, sparking fears of a full-blown trade war.

Investors will shift their focus to the earnings report of artificial intelligence darling Nvidia Corp. NVDA, which is slated for Wednesday after the market closes.

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Analyst Notes: Arthur Azizov, CEO of cryptocurrency payment company B2BINPAY, told Benzinga that Bitcoin was currently in a strong reversal zone.

"If we close below $89,233 and start trading beneath this level, the outlook becomes less favorable, as there is a possibility of further decline. On the other hand, if Bitcoin is bought back throughout the day, merely sweeping liquidity and leaving another wick, we could see further upward movement," Azizov projected.

Popular cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez highlighted that Bitcoin broke out of its rangebound price action that has persisted since November. The downside breakout could trigger a price correction to $80,000.

"So, it may not be wise to buy the dip yet," Martinez cautioned investors.