price of bitcoin It fell below $67,000 on Tuesday morning, wiping out the gains it made last week.
According to data from CoinGecko, bitcoin It is currently trading at $66,139, down 4.6% on the day and 6% on the week.
The broader cryptocurrency market fell in lockstep with Bitcoin, with the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies falling 5.2% to $2.6 trillion, wiping more than $122 billion from the market.
All but the top 30 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, stablecoins, fell overnight, with the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, down more than 6% to $3,331. Among the top 30 tokens, Aptos and Bitcoin Cash recorded the biggest losses, down 13.5% and 9.9%, respectively.
Across the entire cryptocurrency market, more than $426 million was liquidated in the last 24 hours, per data from CoinGlass, with long-term liquidation at $342 million. In Bitcoin alone, more than $90 million worth of buying was liquidated overnight.
The decline occurred as the US Dollar Index (DXY) broke above 105 for the first time this year. This reflects the strength of the dollar. The index tracks the dollar’s value against six major foreign currencies: the euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, British pound and Swedish krona.
Tuesday’s price drop comes amid heightened volatility in cryptocurrency markets ahead of the Bitcoin halving in April. During this process, the block reward allocated to miners is cut in half. Bitcoin prices soared following the previous halving, but debate continues over whether the halving is factored into the price, with some analysts pointing to a “crisis of confidence” among traders ahead of the halving.
This year’s halving is also unusual. Bitcoin hit an all-time high. from now on Halving followed the approval of multiple US spot Bitcoin ETFs in January. The supply crunch caused by ETFs buying Bitcoin along with the halving have been pointed out by analysts as bullish indicators.
Meanwhile, a new report from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase claims that the second quarter will be positive for the cryptocurrency market due to increased institutional interest in the cryptocurrency sector following the approval of the Bitcoin ETF.