- Bitcoin faces increasing selling pressure and pulls back near the $95,000 support on Wednesday.
- The top 5 altcoins are struggling while XRP leads with over 2% gains on the day.
- The cryptocurrency market capitalization erased 7% of its value in the last 24 hours, reaching $3.49 trillion.
- Experts believe that the price of Bitcoin could consolidate further before demand returns to the market.
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly fell below $95,000 on Wednesday before climbing back above that level. The Bitcoin crash marked the start of a market-wide crypto correction, sending altcoins in the top 5 lower, except for XRP which held on to its recent gains and added nearly 2% on the day.
Ethereum (ETH), Binance coin (BNB) and Solana (SOL) corrected slightly that day, while BTC lost almost 2% of its value.
Is this the end of the Bitcoin bull market?
Bitcoin’s gains in 2024 have been attributed to the influx of institutional investments and the approval of US-based spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). As institutional interest slowly returns, macroeconomic factors and the strength of the US dollar influence the BTC price trend in 2025.
David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, told FXStreet:
“Bitcoin is turning out to be a bit of a disappointment. After surpassing $100,000 on Monday afternoon, it collapsed again just 24 hours later. It continued to see selling pressure this morning and is currently back to levels last seen on Thursday as it gains momentum to move higher.
“The daily MACD has certainly fallen sharply from the “overbought” levels seen in November and December. But a floor may need to be found and further consolidation before buyers return. Unless, of course, there is a significant increase in the “risk appetite” of the overall market,” he added.
While Morrison waits for a return of demand in the crypto market to spot a glimmer of hope, Ilya Volkov, CEO of YouHodler, believes traders may not see the same crypto growth as in 2024.
“Last year, the main driver of cryptocurrency growth was the launch of ETFs, which drove significant demand for crypto assets among retail investors. In 2025, we expect a correction in global stock indices, which could also impact cryptocurrency ETFs and lead to a decline in cryptocurrency valuations. It is difficult to predict the scale and duration of this correction, but a key indicator will be the performance of the S&P 500 index, which often sets the tone for other global stock markets,” Volkov said.
Volkov has a bearish outlook on crypto in 2025, which is confirmed by the disappointing flow of Bitcoin ETFs on Tuesday after two days of significant inflows on Friday and Monday.
Crypto Market Cap Decreases 7% in 24 Hours, Where is Crypto Going?
With the crypto market cap falling to $3.49 trillion on Wednesday, traders are concerned about the state of the ecosystem and what they can expect from altcoins in 2025. Bitcoin’s dominance has reduced over the weekly and daily periods, oscillating around 57%.
The altcoin’s total market capitalization is showing signs of recovery on TradingView’s daily chart.
The market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies, excluding Bitcoin, remains well below its 2021 bullish peak of $1.71 trillion. Until there is a recovery in this measure, the future of Bitcoin’s bull run will likely remain uncertain in 2025.
Total market capitalization 2 (excluding Bitcoin)
The average volume of Bitcoin traded on spot exchanges declined 15% week-over-week, according to a report from K33 Research released Tuesday. As traders wait for demand and buying pressure to return to crypto, two-way liquidations are likely to occur in Bitcoin and top altcoins on derivatives exchanges.
