Cryptocurrencies continued to this week's decline on Tuesday, with altcoins in near-freefall as bitcoin (BTC) slid further from the $100,000 level.
Among the worst-hit cryptos were XRP, Polkadot (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/polkadot" target="_blank">DOT</a>), Litecoin (LTC), Aptos (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/aptos" target="_blank">APT</a>) and Cardano (ADA), down 15%-18% over the past 24 hours, extending Monday declines. The <a href="https://indices.coindesk.com/indices" target="_blank">CoinDesk 20</a> — an index of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding memecoins, stablecoins and exchange coins — tumbled almost 10% Most cryptos in the index plunged by double-digit percentage amount at the minimum, though Ethereum's ether (ETH) and Solana's SOL fell just 8% and 9%, respectively.
Bitcoin, in comparison, held up relatively well compared to the rest of the market, dipping to $95,000 and down nearly 3% over the past 24 hours. Cryptocurrencies <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/12/09/crypto-crumbles-in-broad-selloff-led-20-declines-across-numerous-altcoins" target="_blank">had already plunged</a> on Monday, triggering one of the largest leverage flushes in years liquidating over $1.5 billion of bullish derivatives positions. Tuesday's fall so far forced $450 million in liquidations across all digital assets, mostly bullish bets, CoinGlass data <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/BitcoinOpenInterest" target="_blank">shows</a>. Open interest for bitcoin futures remains at record high at almost $58 billion, though it has decreased 6.8% from Sunday.
This week's sell-off followed a month-long breakneck rally in crypto prices after Donald Trump's election victory in early November. Some altcoin majors doubled or more in price, while bitcoin crossed the $100,000 threshold for time ever.
Bitcoin's market cap dominance, which shows BTC's share of the total cryptocurrency market, spiked to 57.9% on Tuesday, its strongest reading since late November, underscoring the general risk-off move from altcoins towards BTC.
The market moves could be in anticipation of inflation data coming on Wednesday, according to Youholder Chief of Markets Ruslan Lienkha. "The market anticipates a slight uptick in inflation," he told CoinDesk in an email. "However, if CPI reveals figures higher than expected, it could intensify the ongoing correction across financial markets. In such a scenario, the timing and likelihood of Federal Reserve rate cuts will become a critical focus heading into the new year." Stocks, though, haven't suffered the same way crypto has. After modest declines on Monday, the major U.S. average are flat today.
