Bitcoin Dips Below $46K on Global Markets’ Omicron Fears Plunge (Market Watch)

The latest fears prompted by the new COVID-19 variant pushed all global markets and bitcoin south again. BTC dipped below $46,000.

Bitcoin’s suffering continues as the cryptocurrency failed at $47,000 and dropped below $46,000. Most altcoins are also well in the red, with Ethereum trading beneath $3,800 and Binance Coin close to breaking below $500.

Omicron Fears Behind BTC’s Latest Dump?

Just several days ago, the primary cryptocurrency seemed significantly more bullish when it neared $50,000 following a US Fed statement in regards to the inflation rates.

However, it couldn’t surpass that level and started to lose value gradually. It dropped below $46,000 in the following days as reported but quickly shot up to $48,000.

Yet, the bears continued to have a strong grip on the market and pushed the asset south again. As of now, bitcoin trades around $46,000, having dipped below that line minutes ago.

BTCUSD. Source: TradingView
BTCUSD. Source: TradingView

 

The situation with the global stock markets is somewhat identical. Most stock indexes lost value last week on fears for the new variant of the COVID-19 pandemic and US politics.

The futures contracts of the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones all went down ahead of the trading day.

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Altcoins See Red Too

Similar to bitcoin, most altcoins are also in the red today. Ethereum has lost another 4.5% of value and now sits beneath $3,800. The second-largest cryptocurrency has been stuck below the coveted $4,000 line for almost a week now.

Binance Coin is down by nearly 5% since yesterday and is just over $510. Solana (-7%), Cardano (-4.5%), Polkadot (-5.5%), Avalanche (-8%), Dogecoin (-5.5%), Shiba Inu (-8%), and MATIC (-6.5%) are all deep in red as well.

Interestingly, XRP is the only larger-cap altcoin slightly in the green. Ripple’s native token is up by more than 3% and stands at $0.85

A few more gainers come from the lower-cap alts, with Revain leading following a 13% increase.

However, most other altcoins are in the red, and the cryptocurrency market cap is down by $100 billion in a day to just over $2.1 trillion.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: Quantify Crypto
Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: Quantify Crypto
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About the author

Jordan Lyanchev
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Jordan got into crypto in 2016 by trading and investing. He began writing about blockchain technology in 2017 and now serves as CryptoPotato's Assistant Editor-in-Chief. He has managed numerous crypto-related projects and is passionate about all things blockchain.