Crypto Market Tumbles on Delta Outbreaks; Bitcoin Slumps below $30,000

Uncertainty and panic prevailed on Monday as surging cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 impacted wider financial markets, including the S&P 500. The global crypto market reacted accordingly, tanking 7.1 per cent in the last 24 hours to stand at $1.19 trillion as of 9 am IST.

Bitcoin (BTC), after its lowest weekly close in eight months, continued to show signs of fatigue as it fell below the crucial support level at $30,000. BTC was trading at $29,600 at day close, with a steep 6 per cent decline from the previous day. BTC has flipped the $31,000 support level to resistance for the first time since January 2021. 

Ethereum (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, suffered a significant 8 per cent loss today, with BTC continuing to dictate the broader market sentiment with gaining dominance of 46.8 per cent. ETH, with a daily close below the YTD (year-to-date) trendline, triggered a sell-off to expose the $1,700 critical support level. ETH is currently trading at $1,735. 

All key altcoins continued to be red, with Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), Ripple (XRP), Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC) registering losses of over 10 per cent. 

Despite strong network fundamentals like growing hashrate, BTC exhibits bearish sentiment amid fears of weak global recovery from the pandemic. A strong daily close above $30,000 is necessary for the reversal of trends. 

Top Gainers today:

1. Dash (DASH): 9.8%
2. Revain (REV): 0.1%
3. UNUS SED LEO (LEO): 0.1%

Top Losers today:

1. NEM (XEM): -23.2%
2. Flow (FLOW): -17.6%
3. Mdex (MDX): -17.6%

The analysis includes the top 100 coins only as of 9 am IST

Source: CoinMarketCap

Crypto News at a Glance:

1. Grayscale Investments, the largest crypto asset manager, has launched a new product named Decentralised Finance (DeFi) Fund to expose institutional investors to DeFi tokens such as Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), and Compound (COMP).
2. The Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance has announced that a draft bill establishing a legal framework for crypto assets is ready. The bill aims to protect retail investors, prevent money laundering and reinforce supervision for crypto exchanges. Earlier in April, two leading crypto exchanges in Turkey, Thodex and Vebitcoin, stopped operations amid a crackdown on the industry.
3. According to the data compiled by Coinbase, daily trading volumes for Dogecoin (DOGE) climbed to nearly $1 billion during the second quarter of 2021. Industry analysts point to listings by major crypto exchanges like Gemini, Coinbase, and e-toro as reasons for the bull run apart from Elon Musk’s endorsement. Robinhood, a leading American financial services company, announced that 34 per cent of its Q2 2021 revenue is attributable to DOGE transactions.

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