Bitcoin (BTC) Falls to $96K, Leading Altcoins Suffer Substantial Losses (Market Watch)

Bitcoin and Altcoins Plunge, Market Sentiment Wanes

In the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has experienced significant bearish pressure, with Bitcoin (BTC) and most leading altcoins posting notable losses.

Bitcoin's Retreat

After reaching a local high of nearly $99,000 on February 14, BTC embarked on a downward trajectory. The release of the Consumer Price Index data on February 12, which revealed higher-than-expected inflation, triggered a sharp sell-off, pushing BTC below $95,000.

Over the weekend, BTC stabilized around $97,000, but bears regained control at the start of the new week, driving the price down to $95,800. At the time of writing, BTC has marginally recovered to $96,100.

Altcoins Suffer Heavier Losses

Altcoins have been hit harder than Bitcoin in this downturn. XRP, Solana (SOL), and Litecoin (LTC) have all recorded losses of 3%, 4%, and 5%, respectively. Notably, Cardano (ADA), Ethereum (ETH), and TRON (TRX) have managed to gain ground amidst the market turmoil.

Meme coins have also seen a plunge in value, with Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Official Trump (TRUMP) experiencing significant declines. Lesser-known meme coins like MEOW, ai16z, and Ket have crashed by double-digit percentages.

Market Overview

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has dropped to approximately $3.19 trillion, with a 0.88% decline for the day. Bitcoin's dominance remains relatively stable at around 59.7%.