As 2024 comes to a close, the cryptocurrency market has seen another wave of sell-offs. With ongoing uncertainty in the macroeconomic outlook and investors rushing to take profits, market confidence has clearly been impacted, and Bitcoin has continued its downward trend, once falling below $92,000 and hitting a monthly low.
Bitcoin has fallen back to the monthly low, and the year-end rally has abruptly halted.
CoinGecko market data shows that Bitcoin dipped to $91,375.39 last night (30), marking the lowest price of the month, but as of the time of writing, it has rebounded to $92,345, with a single-day decline of 1.3%. Just recently, Bitcoin broke through the $100,000 barrier, becoming the focus of market attention. However, now it has fallen over 14% from the historical high of $108,278 set on December 17.
Ethereum (ETH) also could not escape the downturn, falling 2.1% today (31) to $3,339, now down 18% from its December peak.
The overall cryptocurrency market is also showing a downward trend. The CoinDesk 20 Index (tracking the top 20 mainstream currencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and meme coins) dropped by 2.35% today. Among them, Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XRM) saw the most significant declines, plummeting by 4.29% and 4.88%, respectively; Solana (SOL) and Uniswap (UNI) had the smallest declines among mainstream currencies, both not exceeding 1%.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks are also suffering, with selling pressure continuing to rise.
It's not just the cryptocurrency prices that are sluggish; even cryptocurrency-related stocks are struggling to escape the downward fate. MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares fell by 7%, while Coinbase (COIN) dropped by 5.3%. Major Bitcoin mining companies like MARA Holdings (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) saw declines exceeding 7%.
The main driver behind this wave of sell-offs is that investors are choosing to take profits as the year ends. This year, Bitcoin's cumulative increase has exceeded 117%, attracting long-term holders (Hodlers) to cash out at the highs. According to market data, the profit-taking amount for Bitcoin's 7-day moving average reached $1.2 billion, although lower than the peak of $4 billion on December 11, it is still significantly higher than usual levels.
Source: Glassnode - Macroeconomic pressures are compounding the issues.
Besides profit-taking selling pressure, poor US macroeconomic data has also cast a shadow over the cryptocurrency market. The latest Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data shows that the index has dropped to its lowest level since May, suggesting that US economic growth may further slow down.
Additionally, the US Federal Reserve's interest rate policy for next year remains uncertain, which has also created a strong wait-and-see atmosphere in the market. The Fed has indicated that it will not cut rates again before at least March next year, which exerts some pressure on market liquidity.
There are also variables on the political front. The elected US President Donald Trump will officially take office on January 20 next year, and the market is generally focused on whether his policy direction will impact the economy and financial markets.
Expert Opinion: 2025 may be a year of both challenges and opportunities.
Regarding the future performance of the cryptocurrency market, Amundsen Davis partner Joe Carlasare stated: "The market performance in 2024 has been impressive, but the current signs indicate that the market still needs further adjustments and breathing room." He further pointed out:
Looking ahead to 2025, I still hold an optimistic view on Bitcoin, but market trends may diverge from the current consensus, as markets are often full of unexpected twists.
The adoption rate of Bitcoin continues to rise, and I believe its performance will generally sync with traditional financial markets. If the US economy can avoid a significant slowdown, Bitcoin should still perform well, but market fluctuations may be more intense than in 2024.
"Bitcoin once fell below $92,000, hitting a monthly low! Experts warn: fluctuations next year may be greater than this year" This article was first published on (Blockcast).
