Bitcoin (BTC) and other major tokens lost more than 3% as Tuesday’s rally was met with profit-taking during Asian morning hours Wednesday — in line with expectations.
Overall crypto market capitalization fell 3.3% in the past 24 hours, with BTC sliding to nearly $83,500 from a high above $84,200 a day earlier. Ether (ETH) and Cardano’s ADA fell as much as 5% to lead losses among majors.
XRP showed steady declines, with price action suggesting a plunge in the coming days. Fundamentals showed a positive bump, however, with exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider ProShares amending its spot XRP ETF (to be offered in the U.S.) filing on Tuesday — targeting a launch date of April 30.
Bitcoin selling by large investors has eased as they realize losses, on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant shared in a note to CoinDesk. Daily bitcoin selling from large investors has declined from a high of 800,000 BTC in late February to a daily rate of about 300,000 BTC.
“The slowdown in selling has come as these investors have been realizing losses since late February amid low prices,” analysts wrote. “However, accumulation by large investors remains weak. Their holdings declined by approximately 30K BTC over the past week, and their monthly accumulation rate dropped from 2.7% at the end of March to just 0.5%—its slowest pace since February 20.”
A slump in majors came as Chinese stocks in Hong Kong extended their losses to as much as 2.9% after Wednesday’s open despite the Chinese economy growing 5.4% in the first quarter.
The extent of tariff impact remains a concern among traders, whose risk-off moves eventually weigh down crypto markets.
“There can be no doubt that fears of a U.S. recession are intensifying, with major institutions revising their forecasts sharply upwards,” James Toledano, Chief Operating Officer at Unity Wallet, told CoinDesk in an email. “Economic growth is forecast to stall at anywhere between 0.1% and 1%, and many believe these risks are already priced into equities, but I am not so sure that we’ve even seen the bottom.”
“It does however feel that Bitcoin’s appeal as a decentralized asset grows, especially as traditional markets face volatility. While Trump’s policies have introduced significant macroeconomic uncertainty, they may paradoxically be fueling Bitcoin’s recent rise—though the risks remain elevated for all markets, crypto included,” Toledano added.
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