The cryptocurrency market has just witnessed its most significant three-day sell-off in nearly a year, with a staggering $510 billion wiped out since August 2.
The cryptocurrency market has just witnessed its most significant three-day sell-off in nearly a year, with a staggering $510 billion wiped out since August 2. The sell-off has been driven by a confluence of negative factors, including weak employment data, slowed growth in major tech stocks, and renewed recession fears.
This sharp downturn mirrors a broader faltering in the equity markets, where the S&P 500 dropped by as much as 4.4% over the same period. Major companies such as Microsoft and Intel reported lower-than-expected Q2 results, while market leader NVIDIA faced headwinds due to expectations of impending interest rate cuts in September.
Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have both taken significant hits amid this market turbulence, plummeting 10% and 18% respectively in just two hours on August 5. At the time of publication, Bitcoin (BTC) is down 20% and Ethereum (ETH) has fallen 28% over the past week. Among the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, Solana has been the hardest hit, with its value dropping 30.6% since July 30.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which tracks market sentiment toward Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has plunged back into "fear" territory. Much of the losses incurred over the weekend will need to be offset by increased activity in both spot and derivatives markets from traditional financial institutions.