Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Fall On Powell's Jolt: Analyst Sees More Crypto Struggle If 'Wave Of Risk Aversion' Doesn't Pass

Zinger Key Points
  • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin get hit by risk aversion after Jerome Powell's hawkish comments on Tuesday.
  • People anticipating a Grayscale win against SEC leading to a spot BTC ETF in March says cryptocurrency trader.
  • Odds of a 15% Ethereum correction are on the rise says trader.

Major cryptocurrencies were seen trading in the red Tuesday evening as the global cryptocurrency market cap declined nearly 1% to $1.02 trillion at 9:09 p.m. EST.

Price Performance Of Major Coins
Coin 24-hour 7-day Price
Bitcoin BTC/USD -1.2% -4.5% $22,215.02
Ethereum ETH/USD -0.6% -3.1% $1,564.55
Dogecoin DOGE/USD -2.5% -9% $0.07
Top 24-Hour Gainers (Data via CoinMarketCap)
Cryptocurrency 24-Hour % Change (+/-) Price
Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) +11.6% $1.73
Conflux (CFX) +7.6% $0.22
ssv.network (SSV) +4.4% ​​$41.38

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin Anonymously 

Why It Matters: Bitcoin and Ethereum declines were in line with stocks, which saw a sell-off on Tuesday. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were largely unchanged at the time of writing.

Risk assets slipped into the red after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that continued high inflation is causing hardships. 

“We have covered a lot of ground, and the full effects of our tightening so far are yet to be felt. Even so, we have more work to do,” said Powell to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Powell noted there was a “long way to go” to getting inflation back to 2% and the road to the target was likely to be “bumpy.”

OANDA Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya said that Powell “killed risk appetite” on the first day of his Capitol Hill appearance. “Every major risky asset class was under pressure following Fed Chair Powell’s first day of testimony.”

“Bitcoin was down but able to hold onto the lower boundaries of its key trading range. Risk appetite is very vulnerable here and if this wave of risk aversion does not pass, cryptos may struggle,” said Moya.

Meanwhile, CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer asked on Twitter, “How long will crypto continue to trade with the NASDAQ and not with Silvergate.”

Michaël van de Poppe noted that Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC spiked 11% on Tuesday breaking previous 2023 highs. The cryptocurrency trader said, “People are anticipating a likelihood of Grayscale winning against the SEC leading towards a spot [Bitcoin] ETF this month.”

Justin Bennett said that the odds of a correction in Ethereum are on the rise. “Ethereum appears to be edging closer to a 15% correction,” said the trader.

Pointing to the chart of the second-largest cryptocurrency, Bennett said in a note, “ETHUSD is coming off a significant trend line resistance at $1,720, extending from September 2021 low. And while the market remains sideways, the chart below hints at a potentially significant pullback ahead.”

ETH-USD 3-Day Time Frame Chart — Courtesy Daily Price Action 

On-chain market intelligence firm Glassnode said that 40,000 BTC, worth nearly $886.78 million — associated with U.S. government law enforcement seizures are on the move.

“Of these, the majority appear to be internal transfers (so far), however approximately 9,861 $BTC seized from the Silk Road hacker have been sent to our Coinbase cluster,” said Glassnode.

Read Next: Analyst Warns Crypto Market On The Verge Of Sell-Off As Bitcoin Shorts Overpower Longs

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