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Bitcoin stabilized Tuesday morning in Asia after dropping below the key US$26,000 support level overnight. Ether also dipped but held the US$1,600 mark. All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies traded flat to lower, with Polygon\u2019s Matic leading the losers. Alternative asset manager CoinShares reported a US$55 million outflow in digital asset investment products last week. Analysts say disappointment from the stalemate on U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications has impacted sentiment. Meanwhile, the Forkast 500 NFT index continued its downward slide in the wake of NFT marketplace OpenSea\u2019s decision to stop enforcing creator royalties. U.S. stock futures traded lower after Wall Street closed mixed on Monday.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin dipped 0.10% in the last 24 hours to US$26,133.35 as of 07:30 a.m. in Hong Kong, expanding its weekly loss of 11.12%, according to CoinMarketCap<\/a> data. The world\u2019s leading cryptocurrency dropped to a low of US$25,846.09 just after midnight, but rallied to reclaim US$26,000 as the night progressed.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the beginning of the week turned positive for traditional markets, crypto markets seem to \u2014 for now \u2014 be back in stagnation mode,\u201d said Justin d\u2019Anethan, head of Asia-Pacific business development at Belgium-based crypto market maker Keyrock.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany investors were understandably spooked by last week\u2019s rapid rise in volatility and the subsequent price fall, which now means that a positive mood will only be just enough to keep crypto markets where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n For some analysts, last week\u2019s rapid decline in the price of Bitcoin is a correction for price increases since June caused by ETF hype in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recent turmoil led BTC price to trading levels that mirror the ones preceding the Blackrock filing for their BTC Spot ETF,\u201d Matteo Greco, research analyst at Canada-based digital asset investment firm Fineqia International, said in an emailed note.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) which lasted a few weeks after the filing seems to be now disappeared, waiting for news on the matter,\u201d Greco added.<\/p>\n Low liquidity in the crypto market also contributed to last week\u2019s slide. Limited trading volume is driving market makers \u2014 which typically absorb sudden fluctuations in supply and demand and help provide a more predictable trading environment \u2014 to wind down their activities and wait for a better time to fully resume operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n GSR Markets, described by Greco as \u201cone of the most important market makers,\u201d has recently gone through two rounds of layoffs<\/a> in response to worsening market conditions. Greco pointed out that before GSR, influential market makers Jane Street and Jump took similar actions citing difficulties with the state of the market.<\/p>\n Along with Bitcoin, Ether dropped 0.84% to US$1,667.73 and moved down 9.55% for the past seven days.<\/p>\n All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies traded lower over the past 24 hours. Polygon\u2019s Matic token led the losers. It dropped 3.53% to US$0.5589 for a weekly loss of 17.81%.\u00a0<\/p>\n