In the past few days, the cryptocurrency market lost over $500 billion, plunging investors into a deep decline. These losses also caused significant drops in global markets, repeating a similar crash from August 2023.
Major Sell-Off in Bitcoin and Ethereum
The star of the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC), faced an unprecedented sell-off wave in recent months. Bitcoin, which has dropped over 18% since the beginning of the month, shows strong signs of the return of the crypto winter. This situation caused a major shock in the cryptocurrency world and created significant concern among investors.
Japan's 25 basis point interest rate hike hit risky assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH). Bitcoin lost 12%, while Ethereum dropped by 22%. The Japanese stock market experienced its biggest losses since 1987, with the Nikkei index selling off from levels seen at the peak of the real estate bubble 34 years ago. This situation is speculated to be an even bigger drop than the 1987 Black Monday crash.
Currently, financial collapse waves are occurring in markets worldwide. South Korea halted all sell orders, and the US "Magnificent 7" stocks lost over $500 billion overnight. The drop in employment rates in the US has increased the likelihood of a recession, creating significant uncertainty in the markets.
Social Sentiment and Market Reaction
Although fear has begun to dominate the markets, some bulls and individual investors see this decline as an opportunity. Discussions about "buying the dip" have increased on social media, but data from Santiment suggests these levels might be higher than expected, and a bigger drop could occur when US markets open.
The company commented, "Purchase discussions have increased but not as much as expected in this dramatic drop. Expect a bigger reaction when US markets open. Emotional selling will speed up the cryptocurrency market's recovery process."
Current market sentiments are extremely bearish, and the crypto fear and greed index has dropped to 26. While markets are experiencing a significant decline, a recovery is expected as sentiments have shifted from neutral to extreme fear. Although buyers are taking advantage of this opportunity, markets are likely to remain bearish for a while longer.
