Bitcoin dipped on Thursday, snapping two days of gains, as investors responded to a TradingView glitch and stayed cautious amid macroeconomic pressures following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance.
Bitcoin fell 2.6% weaker to $95,884.0 by 06:52 ET (11:52 GMT).
It fell below the key $100,000 mark last week after the Fed officials signaled a slower pace for future cuts.
Bitcoin down as TradingView error sparks volatility
Bitcoin pulled back on Thursday as markets seemingly responded to inaccurate chart data from TradingView.
The cryptocurrency dipped toward $95,000 after social media users flagged an anomaly on TradingView’s Bitcoin dominance chart, which incorrectly showed Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market cap dropping to 0%.
Although the error has been corrected, it reportedly triggered sudden trading reactions that pushed BTC/USD lower.
According to CoinGlass data, roughly $33 million in Bitcoin long positions were liquidated within four hours.
Bitcoin’s market dominance has become a key focus for traders recently, as Bitcoin’s climb to new all-time highs has left altcoins lagging.
Dominance briefly exceeded 61.5% in mid-November before pulling back, raising expectations for a potential “altseason.”
Bitcoin rose nearly 5% in the previous two sessions but failed to continue the positive momentum on Thursday as investors were cautious about the outlook for speculative assets like cryptocurrencies after the Fed indicated fewer interest rate cuts in 2025.
Last week, Bitcoin recorded its first weekly fall since Trump’s election win in early November after the Fed meeting stalled the post-election rally.
The rally had pushed prices to an all-time high of $108,244.9, after which prices fell due to profit-taking amid macroeconomic pressures induced by the Fed rate outlook.
The central bank lowered rates by 25 basis points but indicated only two rate cuts for the upcoming year, compared with previous expectations for four cuts.
This shift led investors to reassess their positions in speculative assets like Bitcoin, contributing to its price decline.
Russia using Bitcoin in foreign trade
Russian companies have started using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for international payments after legislative changes allowed their use to help mitigate the impact of Western sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated on Wednesday.
Sanctions have made trade with key partners like China and Turkey more challenging, as local banks exercise extreme caution with Russia-related transactions to avoid attracting scrutiny from Western regulators.
In response, Russia legalized the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade this year and has initiated measures to regulate cryptocurrency mining, including Bitcoin. As a global leader in Bitcoin mining, the country is leveraging its position to navigate economic restrictions.
Crypto price today: most altcoins edge lower
Other cryptocurrencies fell on Thursday, tracking Bitcoin's decline and as demand for speculative assets remained subdued after the hawkish Fed rattled investor sentiment.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 3.4% to $3,367.06. Ether has gained in the last three sessions but has not been able to fully recover from last week's slump.
World no.3 crypto XRP fell 4.2% to $2.190.
Solana fell 3.2% and Polygon dropped 5.8%, while Cardano fell 5%. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin lost 4.6%.
Crypto markets face potential volatility with record Bitcoin options expiry imminent
Crypto markets could face elevated volatility in the final days of 2024 as a major Bitcoin options expiry approaches. On Friday at 8:00 UTC, 146,000 bitcoin options contracts worth nearly $14 billion will expire on Deribit, the largest event of its kind for the exchange. This represents 44% of all open BTC options and is expected to drive volatility.
Options give buyers the right to purchase or sell an asset at a set price in the future. Calls allow buying, while puts enable selling.
Alongside BTC, $3.84 billion in ETH options will also expire. ETH has fallen about 12% to $3,400 since the Fed meeting, with Deribit dominating over 80% of the global crypto options market.
Approximately $4 billion in BTC options, or 28% of the total $14 billion open interest, are set to expire "in the money," delivering profits to holders. Traders may either close these positions or roll them into future contracts, potentially adding to market fluctuations.
