Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Slide Amid Rate-Hike Anxiety: Analyst Says 'Avoid Emotions, Trade Prices'

Major coins traded in the red on Tuesday evening, as the cryptocurrency market capitalization declined by 2.21% in the last 24 hours to $1.10 trillion.

What Happened: The largest cryptocurrency by market value, Bitcoin BTC/USD, was trading below $25,000. Ethereum ETH/USD was changing hands at $1,654, down 2.82%. Dogecoin DOGE/USD was trading at $0.085, down 2.93% in the last 24 hours.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as higher rates and weak retail earnings weighed on market sentiment. The S&P 500 dropped 2.00%, marking its worst day since Dec. 15, and all sectors finished lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.50%.

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Coinbase COIN highlighted regulatory compliance and its leading position in the U.S. digital asset industry as an advantageous strength in its fourth-quarter 2022 earnings report. 

“While the SEC moves to expand its jurisdiction, other agencies seem to prefer crypto to be pushed out of the regulatory sphere,” Coinbase said, citing recent U.S. bank regulator warnings to financial institutions about holding crypto on public blockchains.

Polygon Labs, the operator of the Polygon protocol designed to speed up and reduce costs associated with Ethereum transactions, has reduced its staff by 20%, equating to a loss of around 100 employees. 

Analyst Notes: “Bitcoin traders appear to be ignoring a laundry list of bearish macro drivers that include; a return of the stronger dollar as the bond market rally returns, downward pressure on stocks as investors price in more Fed rate hikes, and on worries that stablecoin regulation could put further pressure on cryptos. It appears that Bitcoin’s correlation with most risky assets is changing. The crypto winter that saw prices collapse from $68,911 to $15,485 appears to have priced in enough of the bad news,” said Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANA, in a note seen by Benzinga.

“Bitcoin is still respecting the key $25,500 level, but a break could open the door for momentum traders to target a bigger move higher. Initial resistance would come from the $28,000 level, but most traders may have their eyes for the psychological $30,000 level."

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe has offered some advice for those thinking about investing in Bitcoin. He said that when Bitcoin was at $25,000, people wanted to buy in at $22,000, but when it dropped to $22,000, they wanted to buy in at $19K. Ultimately, they end up buying at $30,000 and emotions get the best of them. “Avoid emotions, trade prices. Just dollar-cost average,” he tweeted.

When #Bitcoin is at $25K, people want to buy at $22K.

When #Bitcoin is at $22K, people want to buy at $19K.

When #Bitcoin is at $19K, people want to buy at $12K.

The end up buying at $30K.

Avoid emotions, trade prices.

Just dollar-cost average.

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 21, 2023

Pseudonymous analyst Kaleo said Bitcoin is on the verge of an explosive breakout, expecting it to take out its diagonal resistance and soar to as high as $30,000 in the coming days. Following this surge, Kaleo anticipates a brief pullback that would allow the resistance to become a form of support. “$30,000 is a magnet, but $40,000 is too.” 

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