Bitcoin Erases February’s Gains, BTC Price Sinks Below $8,700
The sharp correction that has rocked the crypto market since Feb. 23 continued through Feb. 27 as Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped nearly 8% to a daily low at $8,531.
Markets pricing in Coronavirus impact
At the opening bell, equities markets recovered some of the losses of the previous two days but at the time of writing Dow Jones futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures all dropped 1.32%, 1.33% and 1.31%, respectively, with investors increasingly concerned about the economic impact of the Coronavirus, which is now present on every continent except Antarctica.
Tech giants Microsoft and Apple also announced that they anticipate missing key sales targets and it is likely that lent another blow to futures markets.
According to reporting from The Fuse, oil refineries in China are currently processing 25% less oil than usual, and the International Energy Agency said that oil demand could drop to 435,000 barrels per day, a figure which is also significantly less when this quarter is compared to the same period in 2019.
Additionally, Russia and Saudi Arabia, both major OPEC members, have entered into a schism, allegedly over a disagreement related to Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut oil production by an additional 600,000 barrels per day.
Crypto market daily price chart. Source: Coin360
After the markets had closed, President Trump attempted to calm Americans’ fears over the spreading Coronavirus, and tomorrow’s opening bell will show how effective the address was.
Bitcoin price hits monthly lows, down almost $2,000 in two weeks
At the time of writing, Bitcoin price is down 10.08% for the week and on the verge of giving back all of the gains accrued from the Jan. 26 rally from $8,336 to $10,500.
For weeks, a countless number of analysts and investors had stressed the importance of Bitcoin holding above $9,000 and the 200-day moving average at ($8,800). Both were broken today and, at the time of writing, traders are fighting to hold the price above the $8,500 support.
Bitcoin’s sharp correction from $10K calls into question the oft-presented argument that Bitcoin functions as a hedge against volatility in traditional markets. Meanwhile, gold futures continue to push higher, currently up 0.52% at the time of publishing. Altcoins also took a pummeling as many of the top-20 major altcoins endured double-digit losses.
Ether (ETH) dropped 10.15% to trade at $215, a stunning reversal considering that the altcoin traded at $286 less than two weeks ago. Litecoin (LTC) pulled back 13.21%, EOS 10.37% and Ethereum Classic (ETC) lost 13.47%. Surprisingly, Chainlink (LINK) rallied 6.82% and Tezos (XTZ) gained 3.71%.
Bitcoin daily price chart. Source: Coin360
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $246.8 billion and Bitcoin’s dominance index rising to 64.4%.
