Bitcoin price today dropped 1.15% over the past 24 hours to trade at $66,385.62. Bitcoin’s market cap stood at $1.32 trillion with $44.75 billion in trading volume. The leading cryptocurrency fell to $65,000 in early trading hours before climbing back to the current price levels.
Talking about the same, CoinSwitch Markets Desk noted, “Global markets witnessed elevated volatility, with BTC falling to $65,000 alongside weakness in US tech stocks. Softer economic data, including an 8.4% decline in US home sales and higher-than-expected jobless claims, added to the cautious tone. While sentiment remains measured, stabilization near current levels could support a recovery attempt toward the $66,000-$67,000 range.”
XRP price declined 0.94% to $1.36, with a market cap of $82.86 billion. The coin is currently navigating a three-day slide. Despite the short-term price pressure, the institutional narrative for XRP remains notably different from Bitcoin. While Bitcoin spot ETFs recently saw $276.3 million in outflows, XRP ETFs successfully avoided net redemptions for an eighth consecutive session, according to a FXEmpire report. This, coupled with the potential passage of the Market Structure Bill, keeps the medium-term outlook bullish for many analysts. If XRP can defend the $1 support level, the path remains open for a recovery toward $2.50 or higher as regulatory clarity improves.
Nischal Shetty, Founder of WazirX, commenting on crypto prices today, explained, “On-chain data shows long-term holders still distributing amidst market fears of further downward pressure. Current loss metrics suggest we are in a capitulation phase. Historically, these zones can last months before a real trend reversal begins, which could mean a trickle-down effect on the overall market sentiment towards altcoins.”
The founder of WazirX added, “The macro view is slightly optimistic. Strong US jobs data has pushed rate cut expectations further out. Despite earlier optimism around gold, it has taken a price setback due to the US dollar weakening. The Fed proposing distinct margin rules for crypto derivatives could mean leverage getting tighter. That reduces speculative excess, which was observed in October’s price crash. Meanwhile, the CFTC bringing crypto CEOs into advisory roles is long-term positive towards indicating a fostering regulatory environment.”
US labor market data released on February 12 showed that initial jobless claims fell to 227,000 for the week ending February 7. These are down from 232,000 the previous week. While the figure came in slightly above the 222,000 forecast, they are historically low and signal a resilient job market.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a March rate cut rose only slightly from 6.4% to 7.8%. More importantly, the chances of a June cut increased from 57.6% to 63.9%, but that’s still down from 75% on February 5.
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