Is crypto market in for long winter after latest bout of selling?

The latest bout of selling ensued after Russia’s central bank called for a crackdown on cryptos. Its central bank on Thursday proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies on Russian territory, citing threats to financial stability, citizens’ wellbeing and its monetary policy sovereignty.

The move is the most recent in a global cryptocurrency crackdown as governments from Asia to the United States worry that privately operated and highly volatile digital currencies could undermine their control of financial and monetary systems.

The announcement by Russia, one of the largest crypto adopters in the world, soured the market mood and the digital asset market plunged into the red.

While this may be a cause for concern, the crypto industry has weathered through multiple bans, restrictions and regulatory scrutiny over the years but have stood the test of time, said CoinDCX Research Team.

“Looking back at how the sector bounced back shortly after China’s crypto ban, we can expect the sell-off to have a little long-term impact on crypto’s performance besides this brief initial dip,” it added.

Other factors including sluggish macroeconomic conditions, rise in oil prices and tapering cues from the Federal Reserve, rising inflation and slump in the technology market are adding to investors’ woes.

Bitcoin has breached the $39,000 level, dropping more than 11 per cent from its peak. Its counterpart Ethereum tanked 14 per cent to test $2,800 levels.

The pain in altcoins has been more severe as BNB, Cardano, Polkadot have tanked up to 18 per cent in the last 24 hours, the data from Coinmarketcap shows.

Volatility is one of the most distinctive features of cryptocurrency markets, while it is also important to understand the market cycle.

Vikas Ahuja, CEO of CrossTower India said that the uncertainty surrounding the Crypto Bill across the globe is one of the factors that led to a fluctuation in cryptocurrency prices.

“China shutting down Bitcoin mining in Sichuan province has also led to crypto market prices going down in market value,” he added while being optimistic of a recovery soon.

On a weekly basis, Bitcoin and Ethereum have lost 10-13 per cent, whereas other major altcoins including Dogecoins, Solana, Avalanche, Polygon has eroded 16-25 per cent of their value.

The total market capitalization of crypto assets has slipped below $1.9 trillion, thanks to the thin trading volumes which have been around sub-$75 billion a day lately.

In other news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected a filing to list and trade a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund by First Trust Advisors and SkyBridge, the hedge fund founded by former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

The SEC’s rejection of the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust was the latest in a succession of vetoes by the regulator around the listing of spot bitcoin ETFs, which seek to provide easy exposure to the digital currency, said Nitish Sharma, Global CEO, TP Global FX. “These rejections by regulatory bodies worldwide have shaken investor confidence in digital assets hence we are seeing a big selloff,” he added.

The downward trend is likely to put investors in a chaotic situation, said Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, adding that the coming week would be vital for the crypto spectrum.