Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Other Major Cryptocurrencies Dip Ahead Of Powell’s Speech Amid Rising Dollar

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other major cryptocurrencies slipped in early morning trade on Thursday as the U.S. dollar gained strength ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later in the day.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) climbed as high as 99.1, its highest since August 11, weighing on demand for dollar-denominated assets such as Bitcoin and gold. Retail sentiment around Stocktwits around the Index improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ territory amid ‘high’ levels of chatter.

Meanwhile, Minutes from the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting showed policymakers united on the need for further rate cuts but divided on timing and scale. Officials warned of persistent inflation risks and the challenge of “flying blind” amid the ongoing government shutdown, which has delayed key economic data.

Bitcoin’s price fell 0.6% in the last 24 hours, trading at around $122,200 at the time of writing. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the leading cryptocurrency dipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ territory amid ‘high’ levels of chatter over the past day. One retail trader suggested that as long as BTC doesn’t drop below $120K, higher price targets in the $140K–$150K range are likely in the near term.

The decline followed another strong day of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ETFs, totaling $426 million on Wednesday, according to SoSoValue. 

Ethereum led losses among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. ETH’s price dropped as much as 3.2% in the last 24 hours, trading at around $4,300. Retail sentiment around the apex altcoin remained in ‘neutral’ territory, accompanied by ‘normal’ levels of chatter over the past day. 

Ethereum was followed by Binance Coin (BNB), which dipped around 2.8% in the last 24 hours. BNB’s price was trading at around $1,279 – 4.2% below its all-time high of $1,330, seen during the previous session. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the cryptocurrency remained in ‘bullish’ territory with ‘high’ levels of chatter over the past day. Despite the fall in its price, BNB remains the third-largest token in the market after flipping Ripple’s native token XRP (XRP) earlier this week.

XRP’s price was also in the red, down 2.3% in the last 24 hours, trading at around $2.80. Retail sentiment around the token dipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ territory, and chatter also fell to ‘low’ from ‘normal’ levels over the past day. 

Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE) also declined, down 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively. Solana (SOL) and Tron (TRX) were the only major cryptocurrencies in positive territory, edging 0.2% and 0.1% higher.

On the equities side, Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, was in the red. MSTR’s stock fell 1.1% in pre-market trade. Meanwhile, Ethereum-treasury firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) slipped as much as 2.3%. Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) were also in the red, with both stocks down as much as 0.5%. was mixed. Crypto-exchange Coinbase (COIN) slid 1.1%.

The dip in the crypto market led to nearly $530 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass data. Most of the liquidations came from long bets, traders who bet that the price of cryptocurrencies would rise, amounting to around $360 million. Short liquidations were around $170 million. Ethereum experienced the largest liquidations of $165 million, followed by Bitcoin at $124 million.

Read also: Tesla Faces NHTSA Probe Into 2.9M FSD-Equipped Vehicles

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