BTC Edge Close to 60K, Ethereum Dips Below $3K As Altcoins See Broad Decline 1 Day to Halving Event

The crypto market is enduring a significant downturn today, April 18th, 2024, with top assets across the board experiencing declines in their 24-hour performance amidst a broader bearish trend. Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a notable pullback, decreasing by 4.80% over the last 24 hours. The approach of the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving, an event that historically impacts prices due to the reduced supply of new coins entering the market, has not been able to buoy the market this time. 

Cryptocurrency Heatmap: Coin360

Despite a nearly 800% increase since the last halving, the current sentiment reflects investor caution as the halving draws near, with Bitcoin falling to the $61,000 zone just one day before the event. While the long-term trend for Bitcoin has shown substantial gains around halving events, the short-term sentiment is dominated by a bearish outlook.

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest asset by market cap, has also succumbed to the bearish pressure, trading below the $3,000 price with a 4.37% decline over the last 24 hours as of writing. Despite this, analysts are forecasting a rebound with an expected short-term bullish bias potentially to test the broken support, provided it maintains stability above the $2,900 level. A break above the $3,200 resistance zone could signal further gains toward testing the descending trendline or to fill the imbalance on the daily chart. However, the current market conditions reflect a cautious approach from traders as the halving effect might heavily affect these other assets.

ETHUSD Daily Chart: TradingView

Other major altcoins have not been spared in this downtrend. Binance Coin (BNB) and Solana (SOL) are down by 0.54% and 5.34% respectively with SOL dropping by over 24% over the last 7 days, contributing to the overall sentiment of a market that seems to be taking a breather after recent rallies. Dogecoin (DOGE), once a media darling, has also seen a significant decrease of 7.29%, highlighting the volatility and speculative nature of the altcoin markets.

XRP has witnessed a slight 1.41% decrease, with SHIB seeing 4.04% and Toncoin decreasing by 10.90 % after a successive rally last week, surpassing  ADA to sit on the 9th largest Crypto.

The wider market cap for all cryptocurrencies now stands at $2.23 trillion, indicating the significant size and impact of the digital asset sector on the global financial landscape. This is despite the downward trends observed over the last 7 days, where the majority of the top cryptocurrencies by market cap have seen their values decline. Bearish momentum is evident as well, largely in the last 7 days.  XRP has seen declines of 20.36%, Cardano 24.93%, Avalanche 28.34%, DOGE 26%, and SOL 24% reflecting the broader market correction.

As the market braces for the Bitcoin halving, it is worth noting that past trends have shown significant price increases around these events. However, the market is complex and influenced by a multitude of factors beyond historical patterns. The overall sentiment among analysts seems to suggest caution as we approach the halving, as the current market dynamics reflect uncertainty in the short term, but with a watchful eye on the potential long-term impacts of the halving.