Bitcoin tumbled below $74,000 on Monday morning, hitting a fresh multi-month low of $73,500 and pushing the total cryptocurrency market capitalization below $2.5 trillion. The move extended a volatile stretch that began with October’s losses and continued through the US midterm elections.
Bitcoin’s Slide
October ended in the red for bitcoin, which dropped over 7% during the month. A significant portion of those losses came at the end of October following a massive exploit against Binance. November opened with further volatility ahead of and after the US midterm elections last Tuesday.
After a Democratic sweep, bitcoin fell to $75,600 but then surged to $81,000 hours later as uncertainty supposedly eased. The relief was short-lived: on Thursday afternoon, bitcoin crashed alongside Wall Street and most major financial markets, dipping below $75,000 on Friday. After trading sideways over the weekend between $75,500 and $76,000, bears regained control on Monday morning, driving the price to $73,500. Liquidations across the market reached $1 billion.
At the time of writing, bitcoin had rebounded to $74,200 but remained deep in the red on both daily and weekly timeframes. Its market capitalization fell to $1.490 trillion, with dominance just above 60%.
Altcoins Under Pressure
Ethereum was among the worst performers, dropping almost 6% to $2,100. The decline liquidated some major players, though whales used the opportunity to buy the dip. XRP posted similar losses and fell below $1.10. HYPE and NEAR each declined over 5%.
SOL, ZEC, DOGE, LINK, UNI, XLM, and TAO were also in the red, while RAIN plunged over 16%. PEPE and QNT were among the few altcoins in positive territory.
The total crypto market cap declined by more than $80 billion in a day to $2.470 trillion. While significant, the drop remains smaller than last Thursday’s Wall Street crash.
