Bitcoin Price Today, DEC 18: Crashes Below $87000 After 6% Weekly Fall; Ethereum, SOL, XRP, DOGE Sink Further

The crypto market is trading under pressure as major digital assets slide amid weak global sentiment. The Bitcoin price today has slipped below the crucial $87,000 mark, while Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and Cardano are undergoing sharp weekly and monthly declines. The overall cryptocurrency market cap has also dropped as selling pressure hovers across large-cap and mid-cap tokens.

"Lower central bank rates, like the Bank of England easing policy, are being touted as a catalyst. to increase liquidity and support risk assets, including crypto, according to analysts. It's important to note that crypto's correlation with broader markets (especially equities) has strengthened. Global energy tensions have marginally lifted broader risk assets and pushed some investors to hedge outside traditional markets, as indicated by experts," said Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX.

"On-chain data shows active BTC wallets drop to 2023 lows as the fear and greed index hits 11. However, if we look back, the $85k level was the all-time high for BTC last year following the US Presidential Election. Given that it's projecting a bearish sentiment at this level in just 12 months, the appeal of Bitcoin among investors and its long-term optimism are evident." Nishchal further added.

Bitcoin Price Today Falls Below $87K

Bitcoin price is currently hovering around $86,860.95, with a total market capitalisation of $1.73 trillion. While Bitcoin price today is marginally up 0.11% in the last 24 hours, it has fallen 6.14% over the past week and 6.59% over the last 30 days.

"In the near term, Bitcoin price action is likely to remain range-bound. On the technical side, $85K remains key support, while $88.5K-$90K continues to act as strong resistance. " As per the CoinSwitch Markets Desk.

Ethereum Price Today Under Pressure

Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $2,837.81, down 3.24% in the last 24 hours. The Ethereum market cap stands at $342.07 billion, with a trading volume of $13.78 billion. ETH has declined 12.38% weekly and 9.20% monthly.

Stablecoins Performance

Amid sharp price swings, stablecoins continue to remain steady. Tether (USDT) & USDC are stable at $1.00. While Ethena USDe (USDE) and Sky Dollar (USDS) are holding near the $1 mark

Altcoins Slide: BNB, XRP, and Solana See Deep Cuts

• BNB price today stands at $837.43, down 2.52% in 24 hours, 5.48% weekly, and 10.24% monthly.

• XRP is trading at $1.86, falling 3.12% today, 8.63% over the week, and a steep 16.28% in the past month.

• Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) has dropped to $123.70, with losses of 3.29% daily, 9.35% weekly, and 12.15% monthly, highlighting growing pressure in high-beta altcoins.

• Dogecoin (DOGE) is among the worst hit, trading at $0.1257, down 4.02% in 24 hours, 10.43% weekly, and a sharp 22.31% over the last month.

• Cardano (ADA) is priced at $0.3658, with losses of 3.71% today, 14.05% weekly, and 23.10% monthly, reflecting weak demand in the altcoin segment.

Other Crypto Tokens: Mixed Trend Across Mid-Caps

Several mid-cap and niche cryptocurrencies are showing mixed performance.

• Chainlink (LINK) is trading at $12.21, down 13.23% weekly.
• Hyperliquid (HYPE) has crashed 37.14% in the last 30 days, making it one of the biggest losers.
• Monero (XMR) stands out as a rare gainer, up 5.99% monthly, trading at $426.87.
• ZCash (ZEC) has fallen sharply 37.79% over the month, despite strong trading volumes.

Crypto Market Outlook

The cryptocurrency market today is highly volatile as investors adopt a risk-off approach. Rising macro uncertainty, profit booking, and lack of fresh triggers are keeping Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins under pressure.

According to the CoinDCX research team, "The sudden pullback has wiped out over $120 billion from the crypto market in the past few hours. Alongside, the US Federal Reserve withdraws the 2023 policy that blocked uninsured banks from engaging with crypto."

"Bitcoin bulls attempted to push the price above $90,000, but the bears dragged them back to $86,600. This price action largely displays the uncertainty among the traders, which has kept Bitcoin within a range-bound consolidation. However, the other altcoins, like Ethereum, XRP, Solana, etc., and a few more did experience a small upswing but later settled around their initial levels. Amid the bearish narrative, the top gainers for the day are Canton (CC) with over an 8% jump, Midnight (NIGHT) with a 4.17% rise and Memecore (M) with a nearly 2.37% surge. On the other hand, UNUS SED LEO (LEO) leads the top losers with over a 19% drop, followed by Pump.fun (PUMP) by 11.57% and Aster (ASTER), Bittensor (TAO), & PancakeSwap (CAKE) by over 9% each." they further added.

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