The crypto market dropped slightly today as traders worldwide reduced their position ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Philadelphia.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, is trading for $111k which is a 2.94% drop from the previous day. Ethereum (ETH) fell around 3.92% to $4,012, Binance Coin (BNB) plunged 7.08% to $1,178, and XRP declined by 5.09% to $2.44, according to CoinMarketCap.
As a result of this, the overall crypto market valuation has dropped by 1.96% to roughly $3.8 trillion. Now, the market is steady as traders wait for more clarity on how the Fed plans to manage interest rates.
Global tensions add more fuel
Meanwhile, this sell off initially intensified following trade tensions between the United States and China. On Friday, President Trump imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese products which triggered the largest single day liquidation event in crypto history with over $19 billion lost in the market. This event has ignited fear in investors who are already wary of inflation and the slow economic growth
At the same time, a new wave of liquidations worth more than $669 million has also been swept through crypto exchanges within 24 hours. This further deepened losses across major tokens. According to Coinglass, $467 million from that amount came from traders who had bet on the market going up, while $202 came from shorts.
All eyes on Powell’s speech
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to deliver his first major public remarks since the Fed’s September meeting, where officials cut rates by 0.25% to a range of 4.00%–4.25%.
However, the decision is divided within the Fed on whether more cuts are necessary this year. The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has made policy decisions harder, as it has delayed crucial reports on inflation and employment. Powell’s speech before the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) could offer clues about the Fed’s next steps, with traders watching closely for hints of either further easing or a policy pause.
Whales bet on sells as stablecoins hold strong
Meanwhile, On-chain data shows that some whales have been shorting the market heavily. One wallet, identified as 0x9eec9, reportedly holds $98 million in shorts across DOGE, ETH, PEPE, XRP, and ASTER.
Another, 0x9263, has $84 million in short positions on SOL and BTC, according to CoinGecko and on-chain analytics sources. Despite the sell-off, the stablecoin market reached a record $310.7 billion.
Also Read: Elon Musk Praises Bitcoin’s Energy-Backed Economic Model
