Bitcoin Plunges Below $52K And Ethereum Slumps 23% Amid Panic Selling As Japan Rate Hike Spooks Investors

Updated: 05 August 2024

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Bitcoin plummeted below $52K and Ethereum plunged more than 23% after a rate hike by the Bank of Japan spooked financial markets, triggering panic selling.

Japanese stocks endured their worst day since 2008 on August 2 following the interest rate hike. The Nikkei 225 stock index is down over 12% as of 2:50 a.m. EST.

Bitcoin Plunges As $1 Billion In Leveraged Crypto Positions Liquidated

The Bitcoin price plummeted 13% to trade at $51,809 as of 5.50 a.m. EST as more than $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in the day of trading, according to CoinGlass data. Over $898 million in long positions was wiped out, while short positions worth over $140 million were liquidated.

The total market capitalization of the crypto market plummeted 17% to about $1.85 trillion.

Crypto Fear And Greed Index Signals “Fear” Amid Latest Crypto Crash

Crypto investor sentiment shifted to bearish as well over the last couple of days. Since last week, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has dropped from a “Greed” score of 74 to signal “Fear” in the market with its current reading of 26.

And there may be worse to come, with ETF (exchange-traded fund) investors expected to react negatively to the recent market decline, according to Peter Schiff. In an Aug. 2 post on X, Schiff that BTC is down 45% against gold since BTC set its all-time high in November 2021.

#Bitcoin traded below $50K. It's down about 22% since Friday's U.S. stock market close, and It's now down 45% priced in #gold since its Nov. 2021 high almost three years ago. It's back above $50K now, but wait until the stock market opens and ETF holders can finally sell too.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 5, 2024

Although Bitcoin has managed to climb back above $50K, he warned his readers that a wave of selling pressure could hit the market later today when US ETF investors “finally sell too.”

Seeking Shelter In Presales

With heightened risk in the market, investors may turn to presale tokens that are not yet publicly traded to to wait out the storm. Among analysts favorites right now are projects such as Pepe Unchained (PEPU), The Meme Games (MGMES) and PlayDoge (PLAY).

PEPU has already raised more than $7.3 million and is offering presale buyers a 267% APY, while PLAY has moved to within a whisker of $6 million raised as it revitalizes the viral Tamagotchi game that was a 90s sensation.

Analysts are also saying that MGMES has huge potential to capitalize on the hype around the Paris Olympic Games.