Bitcoin experienced a rollercoaster ride during the Christmas holidays, trading above $43,000 for most of the season. However, in the past 24 hours, it failed to maintain its momentum, resulting in a significant drop in price. This downward trend has also affected most altcoins, with only Binance Coin and Solana managing to stay in the green within the larger-cap category.
In the weeks leading up to the holiday weekend, the primary cryptocurrency showcased a strong performance, reaching approximately $44,000. This was a critical level that Bitcoin had been struggling to overcome for nearly two years. Despite multiple unsuccessful attempts, it finally managed to break through. However, the bears gradually exerted their influence on the market, causing BTC to slip away from $44,000 and even drop as low as $42,600 on Bitstamp.
A Sudden Change in Landscape
Although Bitcoin experienced a quick recovery and briefly approached $44,000 again, the situation took a turn for the worse in the past 24 hours. As a result, the price plummeted by almost $1,000, reaching a six-day low of $42,500. Although there has been a partial recovery since then, BTC remains down by 1% for the day and is struggling to regain its position above $43,000. Its market capitalization has also declined to $835 billion, and its dominance over the altcoins has fallen to 50.5% on CoinMarketCap.
One of the few bright spots in the market is Solana’s native token, which has been consistently performing impressively. Over the past day, SOL has gained an additional 3.5% and now trades significantly above $110. Notably, SOL has surpassed Binance Coin to become the fourth-largest digital currency. BNB itself has also surged by 5% during the same period and is currently priced at $275.
Among other larger-cap altcoins, some are experiencing minor losses, such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), TRON (TRX), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Chainlink (LINK). On the other hand, a few alts have shown minor gains, albeit insignificant. Notable price pumps include SATS (20%), Sei (17%), Sui (15%), ORDI (13%), and NEAR Protocol (13%).
Despite the positive performance of certain altcoins, the overall cryptocurrency market has witnessed a decline of approximately $30 billion since yesterday’s peak. As a result, the total market capitalization now stands at $1.650 trillion according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin’s journey over the Christmas holidays was marked by volatility and a failure to maintain its upward momentum. While some altcoins managed to buck the trend, the market as a whole experienced a setback. Investors will now closely monitor Bitcoin’s ability to recover and regain stability above the $43,000 mark.
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