Bitcoin slips under $60,000 again as crypto market faces broad pressure

The bitcoin price briefly fell below $60,000 again late Tuesday amid a broader crypto market downturn. 

Bitcoin BTC -5.96% is down 5.4% in the past 24 hours to $59,600 at the time of writing, according to The Block’s bitcoin price page . Ether saw a bigger drop of around 7.7%, now changing hands at $2,480. 

Among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, Solana dipped 7% to $147.5, and Dogecoin lost 6.3% in value to trade at $0.099. The Block's data shows that the cryptocurrency market fell 6.3% in the past day.

“There isn't a single catalyst for today’s downturn in the crypto markets, but it seems to be a combination of factors,” BTC Markets Crypto Analyst Rachael Lucas told The Block. “Technical indicators show that the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is oversold on the daily chart, which could suggest a potential rebound in the dollar, traditionally leading to downward pressure on risk assets like cryptocurrencies.”

Lucas added that seasonality could be involved in the market downturn. The “September Effect” has traditionally led markets to underperform due to portfolio rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and increased caution ahead of U.S. elections. 

Analysts cite multiple factors

According to the crypto analyst, many crypto liquidations reported in the last day have exacerbated such adverse factors. Glassnode data shows that over $287 million worth of long crypto positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours. 

“Short-dated volatility was bid, with traders scrambling to buy downside protection (puts), as underlying momentum remains poor from the supply overhang and lack of on-chain catalysts in the near term,” said Augustine Fan, Head of Insights at SOFA.org.

Ether prices have shown more struggles as spot ether ETFs reported prolonged net outflows, recording their eighth consecutive negative flow day on Monday. “ ETH -8.13% ETFs continued its poor momentum as the Ethereum mainnet remains caught in a bit of an identity crisis,” Fan said.

“ETH has struggled more than other cryptocurrencies as the Ethereum Foundation has been criticized for its $100 million budget that comes from selling ETH, which would add more sell pressure,” Nick Ruck, an independent market researcher, also said in a statement. 

BTCMarkets’ Lucas forecasted that bitcoin could fall to lows of around $56,000 in the near term if the token continues trading below its 50-day moving average, a key technical level on the daily chart. Bitcoin’s 50-day moving average currently sits at $61,991, according to data from TradingView.