Bloodbath Continues as Crypto Prices Crash to Early February Levels, Wiping Out $392 Billion

What started over the weekend and gained pace on Monday is dominating the cryptocurrency space as the overall crypto market losses $392 billion since yesterday.

The overall market cap is currently around $1.37 trillion, as per Coinmarketcap.

In the throes of deep red, Bitcoin (BTC) went down to $45,200 and continues to struggle to make some recovery only to fall further every time. From Sunday’s all-time high of about $58,300, the leading digital asset has lost about 29% of its value.

However, it is not unusual for Bitcoin bull markets as during the 2017 uptrend; we saw an average of 30% to 40% drawdowns several times.

Ethereum (ETH) has taken just as a severe hit, falling to $1,350. ETH -5.63% Ethereum / USD ETHUSD $ 3,899.67
-$219.55-5.63% Volume 66.44 b Change -$219.55 Open $3,899.67 Circulating 115.82 m Market Cap 451.68 b 10 h DeFi Protocol, Rari Capital, to Become a DAO After the $10 Million Exploit 13 h SHIB Token Is Sending Ethereum Gas Prices Higher 15 h Deribit Lists Ether at 50k Strike Options with March 2022 Expiry

Interestingly, the last time Bitcoin and Ether were around this level was on Feb. 11 and Feb. 1st respectively. Other cryptocurrencies are also back to the levels last seen earlier this month only.

“Stahp selling Michael Saylor cheap bitcoin you wimps! BTFD. HODL. It's barely a dip. Recall the Jan dip from $42k to $29k -30% in a few days (and back to $40k all within a week). This was -17% and below $50k last a few minutes,” tweeted Adam back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream.

$BTC

Mean reversion traders may get the last laugh (they usually do).

A reverison to the basis is typically a non-negotiable in order to continue the next leg up.

We can revert to this level and still be in a healthy macro uptrend pic.twitter.com/M8kHLkoAfR

— Altcoin Psycho (@AltcoinPsycho) February 23, 2021

While a big buy the dip opportunity for those looking to get in when the prices were flying, the pain is real, and the ongoing bloodbath has people now scared to really scoop up the coins that are heavily discounted.

In the past 24 hours, cryptocurrencies have lost their value up to 55%.

According to trader and economist Alex Kruger, the short-term bottom might be in, adding: “Very hard to pinpoint the bottom when the market is rolling over rather than crashing vertically. That said, expect prices across alts to be much higher within 24-48H.”

While the majority of the market is down, some coins were able to post gains even amidst this drawdown before they succumbed to the selling pressure as well. These coins were Solana (SOL) and HXRO, among other small-cap coins besides the stablecoins.

According to trader Altcoin Psycho, “Bulls aren’t safe yet,” especially with Bitcoin options expiry this week.

“Expecting more volatility as we get closer to options expiry, don’t use leverage here,” he added.