- The total cryptocurrency market capitalization slipped around 2% to just above $2.5 trillion.
- Ethereum, Solana and XRP also declined, with Ethereum struggling to hold $2,000 and Solana approaching $80.
- Strategy shares faced additional pressure from MSCI's decision to remove the stock from global indexes after its November 30 reshuffle.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $73,000 in morning trade on Thursday for the first time since August as the turmoil around Nvidia (NVDA) dragged on tech stocks, taking cryptocurrencies and crypto-linked equities with it.
Bitcoin’s price fell 1.5% in the last 24 hours, falling to around $72,900 at the time of writing. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency trended in ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day.
Crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe said in a post on X that Bitcoin has support at its 200-day moving average and another support zone between $70,000 and $71,500. However, he stated that buyers might not be strong enough to push the price through resistance yet.
“What I'd like to see: A sweep of the lows towards the lower support zones and then a high-volume candle + reclaim back upwards,” he said, calling it “a strong trigger for trades.”
The overall cryptocurrency market slipped around 2% in the last 24 hours, teetering above the $2.5 trillion mark with NVDA stock down over 7% and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) falling almost 2.5%.
Analysts were mulling over whether CEO Jensen Huang would be able to retain his post and, if he were removed, who would take the helm instead, after reports stated that he had a second affair with an executive within the company.
Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Ripple’s XRP (XRP) also fell alongside Bitcoin. Ethereum’s price fell 1.8% in the last 24 hours, struggling to hold above the $2,000 mark, while Solana’s price also fell 1.8%, in danger of dropping below $80. XRP’s price was down around 2%, trading just above the $1 mark.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Ethereum improved to ‘bearish’ from ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day, while sentiment around XRP and Solana remained in the ‘bearish’ zone.
MSTR, BMNR, ASST Lead Slide In Crypto Stocks
Crypto equities fell alongside cryptocurrencies in pre-market on Thursday. Corporate cryptocurrency treasuries Strategy (MSTR), Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), and Strive (ASST) took the biggest hits. MSTR stock was down nearly 6%, while BMNR stock and ASST shares both dropped around 5.5% each.
Strategy faces an additional source of pressure after MSCI said it would remove the company from its global indexes after the November 30 rebalancing. The decision could prompt passive funds tracking those indexes to sell their holdings.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around MSTR trended in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, while chatter rose to ‘normal’ from ‘low’ levels.
Large-cap crypto equities Coinbase (COIN) and USDC stablecoin issuers (CRCL) were also caught in the selloff. COIN stock fell around 4%, while CRCL shares were down around 3.5% in pre-market trade.
Bitcoin miners, many of which have turned to renting out power and space to AI data centers, were caught on both sides of the sell-off. Cipher Digital (CIFR) fell 5.1%, Mara Holdings (MARA) 4.6%, Hut 8 (HUT) 4.3%, TeraWulf (WULF) 4%, and CleanSpark (CLSK) 3.9%.
