Bitcoin Stalls Below $76.7K as Tariff Tensions Weigh on Market

On Wednesday, April 9, Bitcoin showed losses along with the majority of cryptocurrencies. On international marketplaces, the asset fell 4% to trade for $76,538 (about Rs. 66.2 lakh). Bitcoin's value dropped by over 5% on Indian markets as well, falling between $78,494 (about Rs. 67.9 lakh) and $80,228 (about Rs. 69.4 lakh). Due to the intense trade tensions between the US and other countries, the momentum of the cryptocurrency market as a whole has slowed down in recent days.

"The US increased the tariff rates to 104 percent on China, which fueled the uncertainty among the market participants, as expected. Bitcoin price slumped hard and is about to drop below $75,000 (roughly Rs. 64.9 lakh) for the second time this week, raising alarms over the entire crypto market. Market sentiments become extremely fearful, hinting towards a potential bear market," the CoinDCX research team told Gadgets 360.

Ether price tumbled by over eight percent in the last day and is trading at $1,455 (roughly Rs. 1.25 lakh) on global platforms. Ether also clocked notable losses of over nine percent on Indian exchanges to trade at around $1,509 (roughly Rs. 1.30 lakh).

"ETH has been trading in a downtrend over the past four months, plunging nearly 65 percent and making a recent low of $1,411 (roughly Rs. 1.22 lakh) and has formed a ‘Spinning Top' candle, indicating indecision in the trend. The asset's key support level is $1,500 (roughly Rs. 1.29 lakh)," said the ZebPay Trade Desk, predicting ETH's price movement to be rangebound between $1,350 (roughly Rs. 1.16 lakh) and $2,150 (roughly Rs. 1.86 lakh).

The crypto price tracker by Gadgets 360 showed the majority of altcoins trading in losses on Wednesday. These include Ripple, Tether, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Tron.

Avalanche, Chainlink, Stellar, Polkadot, and Uniswap also succumbed to the market pressure and failed to see gains.

The overall crypto market cap dipped by five percent over the last 24 hours, showed CoinMarketCap. The sector valuation presently stands at $2.42 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,09,44,075 crore).

"Global trade tensions are now key drivers of digital asset volatility. With over $400 million (roughly Rs. 3,461 crore) in liquidations and shorts, making up 60 percent of open interest, investor sentiment has clearly turned cautious," Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange told Gadgets 360.

Meanwhile, a small number of altcoins did manage to retain small gains. These include Tether, Leo, Iota, and Qtum.

Analysts have strongly advised investors to be alert and vigilant with their investment decisions as markets are expected to remain choppy for the next few days, or even weeks.