Bitcoin and Ethereum are feeling the pressure as the crypto market takes a downturn. Both cryptocurrencies have experienced significant drops, with Bitcoin falling by 7% and Ethereum lagging behind with a 10% decrease. This decline has caused the global crypto market cap to contract by 8%, dipping below $2.5 trillion. Just last week, the market was on the verge of matching its all-time high market capitalization seen in November 2021, but now it seems the tables have turned.
As of now, the price of Bitcoin is $63,142.39, having briefly dipped below the $63,000 mark, according to CoinGecko data. This sharp reversal comes after Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of over $73,000 last week. On the other hand, Ethereum has fared even worse, falling by 10% to $3,230.05. This marks a 20% drop from last week when the Ethereum community was eagerly anticipating the Dencun upgrade on the mainnet.
The steep decline in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices has led to the liquidation of many long positions opened by optimistic traders. In the past day alone, more than $500 million worth of long positions and $100 million worth of short positions have been liquidated across digital asset contracts. This volatility is also impacting meme coins, with popular ones experiencing even larger losses. For instance, Solana meme coins Dogwifhat and Bonk have dropped by 22% and 19% respectively, while Floki Inu, a competitor based on the Ethereum network, has shed 20% of its value.
Even Jupiter, a Solana decentralized exchange (DEX) that recently promised to assist Slerf presale buyers who lost $10 million, has seen its JUP token decline by 16% since yesterday. These widespread losses highlight the current gloomy sentiment in the crypto market and the need for investors to navigate the volatility with caution.