Bitcoin and Altcoins Tumble as Macro Risks Intensify
The cryptocurrency market declined on Thursday as rising oil prices, persistent inflation concerns and fading expectations for interest rate cuts prompted investors to reduce exposure to risk assets.
Summary
- Rising oil prices, persistent inflation concerns and reduced expectations for interest rate cuts are weighing on cryptocurrencies.
- Bitcoin is down 1.7%, while most major altcoins also posted losses as traders reduced exposure to risk assets.
- More than $229 million in leveraged positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for the majority of the losses.
The cryptocurrency market extended its decline on Thursday as investors moved away from risk assets amid a deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop. A combination of rising energy prices, geopolitical tensions and fading expectations for monetary easing pushed Bitcoin below the psychologically important $65,000 level, while Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Dogecoin also traded lower.
The selloff was broad-based rather than token-specific. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell to $2.21 trillion, reflecting weakness across the digital asset market rather than isolated selling pressure.
Macroeconomic Headwinds Continue to Build
The selloff followed another jump in Brent crude prices and diminishing expectations that major central banks will begin easing monetary policy in the near term.
Brent crude oil has climbed toward $100 per barrel, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East and renewed concerns over potential supply disruptions. Higher energy prices raise the risk that inflation could remain above central bank targets for longer, complicating the path toward monetary easing.
At the same time, policymakers continue to signal caution. The European Central Bank has maintained restrictive monetary policy, while resilient labor market data in major economies has reduced expectations that central banks will rush to lower borrowing costs.
Latest labor market data reinforced expectations that policymakers will keep borrowing costs elevated, reducing demand for risk-sensitive assets including cryptocurrencies.
With traders pushing back expectations for rate cuts, capital rotated out of higher-risk assets, weighing on both cryptocurrencies and growth stocks. When investors begin pricing in a prolonged period of tighter monetary conditions, capital typically rotates toward lower-risk assets, placing additional pressure on digital assets.
Selling Pressure Spreads Across the Market
The decline was visible across most of the largest cryptocurrencies.
At the time of writing Bitcoin fell to $64,730, while Ethereum trades at $1,890. XRP, Solana, Dogecoin and Chainlink also posted losses over the past 24 hours, highlighting the broad nature of the risk-off move rather than weakness concentrated in a single asset.
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Market sentiment also deteriorated. The Fear & Greed Index dropped to 37, remaining firmly in “Fear” territory, while the average crypto RSI stood near 46, suggesting momentum has weakened following last week’s rally.
Despite the selloff, the Altcoin Season Index remained near 52, indicating that market performance continues to be relatively balanced between Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies rather than signaling a decisive shift toward either segment.
Liquidations Accelerate the Decline
Derivative markets amplified the downside move as falling prices triggered a wave of forced liquidations.
According to CoinGlass, more than $229 million in crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, including approximately $174 million in long positions compared with about $55 million in shorts. Nearly 68,000 traders were affected, with the largest single liquidation occurring on OKX’s BTC-USDT perpetual contract, valued at $4.38 million.
The liquidation imbalance suggests that many traders had continued positioning for additional upside following Bitcoin’s recent advance. As prices weakened, leveraged long positions were automatically closed, accelerating selling pressure across the broader market.
Technical Indicators Point to Weakening Momentum
Bitcoin’s technical picture has also deteriorated in the short term.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) fell to around 29, entering oversold territory and signaling that bearish momentum has intensified. Meanwhile, the MACD remains in negative territory, with the indicator continuing to point toward weakening buying pressure.
Although oversold readings can sometimes precede short-term rebounds, technical indicators alone are unlikely to determine the market’s direction while macroeconomic uncertainty remains the dominant driver.
For now, traders are likely to remain focused on developments in energy markets, geopolitical tensions and expectations for future central bank policy, as those factors continue to shape liquidity conditions across both traditional financial markets and cryptocurrencies.
The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
