Bitcoin (BTC) Price Drops 4.2% Ahead of Monthly Close, Ethereum (ETH) and XRP Follow Suit

Ahead of the monthly close in the coming days, the crypto market, led by Bitcoin (BTC), has experienced rising bearish sentiment. The total crypto market cap dropped around 4.2 percent in the past 24 hours to hover about $2.89 trillion on Friday, during the early trading session for the Western financial markets.

The crypto market, led by Bitcoin (BTC), experienced rising bearish sentiment ahead of the monthly close in the coming days. The total crypto market cap dropped around 4.2 percent in the past 24 hours to hover about $2.89 trillion on Friday, during the early trading session for the Western financial markets.

In the past 24 hours, Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple Labs’ XRP prices dropped over 5 percent to trade at about $1,909 and $2.24 respectively at the time of this writing. As a result of the sudden crypto selloff today, more than $336 million was liquidated from the leveraged crypto market, mostly involving long traders.

Major Forces Behind Crypto Dump Today

Declining Futures Open Interest

In the past 24 hours, the total Open Interest (OI) for the crypto market dropped by around 2.57 percent to hover around $109 billion at the time of this writing. Ripple’s XRP experienced a decline of about 3.21 percent in its OI to hover around $3.92 billion on Friday.

The Ethereum market recorded a decline of 3.58 percent in its OI during the past 24 hours to hover about $22.37 billion. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s OI declined by around 1 percent in the past 24 hours to hover about $56.84 billion at the time of this writing.

Uncertainty Caused By U.S. Led Tariff Wars

Ahead of the U.S. tariff implementation on April 2, the crypto market has experienced bearish sentiment. In addition to Friday’s high-impact news on inflation regarding the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures for monthly and yearly, the demand fear of further crypto capitulation is palpable.

Low Demand from Short-Term Holders Compared to Long-Term Investors

According to market data analysis from Glassnode, short-term crypto investors have been offloading their holdings while long-term investors gradually accumulate. The overall demand for stablecoins has gradually increased as investors protect their capital from devaluation amid ongoing bearish sentiment.