Major cryptocurrencies experienced a subdued performance on Monday, as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and assessed the likelihood of an interest rate hike. Bitcoin briefly surpassed $83,000 before retreating to the $81,000 range. Ethereum fluctuated between $2,374 and $2,443, while XRP and Dogecoin ended the day in negative territory. Cryptocurrency-related stocks also declined, with Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BMNR) falling 0.59% and 0.37%, respectively. Over the past 24 hours, more than $180 million in cryptocurrency positions were liquidated, including approximately $100 million in long positions, according to Coinglass data.
The overall market sentiment remained dominated by 'greed,' as indicated by the Crypto Fear & Greed Index. However, smart money sentiment, reflecting the outlook of institutional investors, turned 'extremely bearish.' Bitcoin’s open interest dipped slightly by 0.05% over the last 24 hours.
Despite the market's wobbles, blockchain analytics firm Santiment noted a positive development: the total Bitcoin held by addresses in the 10-10,000 BTC cohort reached its highest level in six months. Santiment suggested that this trend could create a 'strong bullish setup' if it continues, as this cohort has historically aligned closely with Bitcoin’s major price trends. Meanwhile, Glassnode highlighted that short-term Bitcoin holders in profit recently sent the largest share of coins to exchanges in a year, contributing to selling pressure after BTC broke $85,000.
The broader stock market had a mixed session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 36.38 points, or 0.07%, to close at 51,966.03. In contrast, the S&P 500 rose 0.41% to end at 7,690.73, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.11% to close at 26,430.89. Fed Chair Warsh declined to preview next week’s decision on interest rates, stating that recent hot inflation readings have left his view of the economy unchanged. Market participants currently price in an 82% chance of a rate hold, according to the CME FedWatch tool.