Bitcoin volatility is at a historic low.
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Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies slipped Wednesday, with digital assets continuing to languish at depressed levels. Market participants are divided on what comes next, with some seeing the current lull as a precursor to a significant move.
The price of Bitcoin has dropped 1% over the past 24 hours to below $29,100. The largest digital asset was falling further from the psychologically important $30,000 level, which had provided support for months before a slide lower in July that has ushered in a period of historic calm across crypto markets.
“The digital asset market continues trading within a historically low volatility regime, with several metrics indicating extreme apathy and exhaustion has been reached in the $29,000 to $30,000 range,” analysts at crypto market intelligence firm Glassnode wrote in a recent note. “A very boring, choppy, sideways market may remain.”
Indeed, while the stock market has continued to swing on macro catalysts that should also hit cryptos—with the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
responding to the interest-rate outlook and economic news out of China—Bitcoin has been boring.
Analysts and traders appeared split on whether the current environment is merely a rut or a more permanent change in the volatility that is so characteristic of cryptos. For those in the former camp, each passing day of calm creates more pressure for the next move.
“I think we’re poised for a massive move for Bitcoin, with all the technicals pointing to some sort of major squeeze either to the upside or downside,” said Brian D. Evans, the CEO of venture firm BDE Ventures. “We’ve seen this before. Bitcoin ranges for a prolonged period of time, volumes contract, and then—bam—there’s a 10% rally or pullback that generates either panic or euphoria.”
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—was down more than 1% to below $1,820. Smaller tokens, or altcoins, were even weaker, with
Cardano
dropping 5% and
Polygon
plunging 8%. Memecoins were also in the red, with
Dogecoin
down 6% and
Shiba Inu
shedding 4%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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