Major cryptocurrencies were seen trading higher at the time of writing. The global cryptocurrency market cap was up 2.1% at $1.72 trillion, according to Coingecko data.
While Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies held steady, concerns over the stability of U.S. regional banking were rekindled. On Thursday, shares of New York Community Bancorp. slid following the release of fourth-quarter results.
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded at 12.16 a.m. EST) |
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | +1.98% | $42,960.56 |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | +1.38% | $2,296.80 |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | +0.88% | $0.08 |
Stocks of regional banks were highly volatile on Thursday. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF considered a gauge for the sector, fell 3.12% to $48.15 at the end of the day's trading.
Analysts Ryan Nash and Christian DeGrasse said, “There could be a risk of increased regulatory scrutiny for regional banks as NYCB had previously acquired Signature Bank through FDIC receivership last spring,” the analysts said.
It should be noted that during the last banking crisis, Bitcoin saw a considerable gain. Ark Invest Management CEO Cathie Wood touched on the appreciation of crypto assets during the Silicon Valley Bank meltdown.
Top Gainer (24-Hours)
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded at 12.16 a.m. EST) |
| Pyth Network (PYTH) | +25.05% | $0.49 |
| FTX Token (FTT) | +17.78% | $2.03 |
| Chainlink (LINK) | +14.8% | $17.81 |
She had explained at the time that businesses and individuals were taking measures to hedge their fiat assets with crypto, in turn resulting in reduction of risk and increased returns by moving from "low-yielding bank deposits to higher-yielding money market funds."
Wood had also related a 20-fold increase in Fed funds rate at the time with the wipeout of investors in regional banks.
United States Fed Funds Interest Rate Since April 2022: Source: Trading Economics
Analyst Takes
Crypto trader Michaël van de Poppe noted that Bitcoin has dropped 20% since it hit the $48,500 level and the markets have corrected "alongside."
He said, "I’ve seen this sentiment in the previous cycles, but surrounding different topics."
"Don’t worry about 10-20% corrections in the short term if there’s so much upside in the long term."
Santiment, a market intelligence platform, noted that Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds are still "seeing plenty of volume" despite recent drops. The market intelligence platform said Wood's ARKB has seen the most volume with Fidelity's FBTC not "far behind." The rise in volumes for the newcomers has been at the cost of the long-standing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust or GBTC.
Meanwhile, crypto analyst Ali Martinez says the next Bitcoin market top could be around April or October 2025 provided historical trends are followed by the "upcoming bull market." Ali made this observation based on post-halving corrections seen in 2016 and 2020 as well as post-halving rallies that took place in 2012, 2016, and 2020. He noted that bull market durations after each halving lasted 365 days, 518 days, and 549 days respectively. The next Bitcoin halving is due in April 2024.
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