Ethereum fell to a 16-month low

Bitcoin BTC $82,670.95 Bitcoin -1.50% Market capitalization $1.64 trillion VOL. 24 hours $1.04 billion and Ethereum ETH $1,818.06 Bridged Ether (StarkGate) -3.18% Market capitalization $0.16 billion VOL. 24 hours $0.78 billion continued to fall amid a general market collapse caused by uncertainty over US tariff policy and a possible recession. Additional pressure was exerted by President Donald Trump’s announcement of the creation of a state reserve of BTC, which caused mixed reactions from investors. This is reported by The Block.

Bitcoin fell below $ 77,000, losing 5% before partially recovering to $ 78,250. Ethereum has fallen 11% over the past 24 hours, reaching $ 1,820, its lowest level since October 2023. The largest losses among the top 10 cryptocurrencies were experienced by Dogecoin DOGE $0.17 Binance-Peg Dogecoin -6.06% Market capitalization $0.43 billion VOL. 24 hours $0.15 billion (-14%), while XRP XRP $2.12 XRP -3.00% Market capitalization $123.53 billion VOL. 24 hours $0.41 billion and Cardano ADA $0.67 Cardano -4.36% Market capitalization $24.12 billion VOL. 24 hours $72.44 million lost 10.7% and 10.2%, respectively.

US stock markets also suffered serious losses. The Dow Jones index fell by 2.08%, the S&P 500 — by 2.7%, which was the worst performance of the year. The Nasdaq Composite lost 4%, the largest one-day drop since September 2022.

According to Peter Chun, head of analytics at Presto Research, the markets reacted negatively to Trump’s informal statement that «a collapse is normal» and that he does not rule out a recession due to trade disputes. Analysts say investors are nervous about new customs restrictions: Trump has already doubled the tariff on Chinese imports to 20% and threatened to raise tariffs on Canada and Mexico, although he later postponed this decision until April 2.

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, urged investors to be patient, noting that bitcoin is likely to bottom out around $ 70,000, and the current 36% correction from the all-time high of $ 110,000 is typical of a bull market. He also noted that conservative traders may wait until central banks begin to ease monetary policy.

The key event that investors are paying attention to will be the March 19 meeting of the Federal Reserve (FOMC). It is expected that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will not change interest rates, but the market will closely monitor his rhetoric. Any hints of a possible rate cut in May or June could significantly affect the dynamics of the crypto market.