Today the total market cap of the major cryptocurrencies is $358 billion with daily trading volumes of $47.5 billion.

According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin peaked at $20,338 in the past 24 hours, while the low was $18,432. Bitcoin plummeted by 7.5% on Tuesday.

The weak results of the last trading session in the US stock market put pressure on BTC. Thus, on Tuesday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined by 0.43%, reaching a 52-week low. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index fell by 0.21%.

Since the beginning of 2022, analysts have increasingly emphasized the high level of correlation between the US stock market and digital assets against the background of intense expectations of both the consequences of the geopolitical conflict in eastern Europe and the further actions of the US Fed.

Earlier, the experts of the investment company Arcane Research have already stated that the correlation between BTC and tech stocks has reached the highest level since July 2020.

Bitcoin has been declining for the second month in a row. Thus, in August, the asset lost 14%, falling to $20,000 from $23,300. Since the beginning of September, it lost 6.6%. In January 2022, the cryptocurrency cost $46,200, and then its price collapsed by almost 2.5 times.

Altcoin market

Ethereum, Bitcoin's main competitor, is trading at $1,282. At the beginning of Wednesday's trading session, the price fell by almost $70 and tested the low of $1,267. At the same time, the altcoin was approaching $1,400, near which it was last traded on September 21.

As for cryptocurrencies from the top 10 by market cap, all of them, except for several stablecoins, were trading in the red zone during the day. XRP dropped by 10.4% and showed the worst performance.

According to last week's results, Solana gained 2.9% and topped the list of the top 10 strongest digital assets, while Ethereum lost 3% and became the top loser.

According to CoinGecko, the world's largest aggregator of virtual asset data, Terra Luna Classic (-10%) topped the list of the top 100 most capitalized digital assets in the last 24 hours, with Quant (+11%) showing the best results.

At the end of last week, Evmos lost 25% and was the worst-performing digital asset in the top 100, while Quant added 37% and showed the best performance.

According to CoinGecko, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies was $1.01 trillion on Wednesday.

In November 2021, it exceeded $3 trillion.

Forecasts by crypto analysts

The roller coaster ride of the digital coin market is forcing analysts to make mixed predictions about its future. CEO of Dogifox Nicholas Merten said that BTC would collapse to $14,000.

The crypto expert came to this conclusion based on technical and macroeconomic factors. For example, Merten believes that BTC's recent price movement may signal the end of a 10-year bull cycle, after which the coin will cease to be a key asset compared to other commodities and stocks.

According to the crypto expert, the recent decision of the US Fed on monetary policy may become an important macroeconomic factor, dragging the price of the first cryptocurrency down.

Last Wednesday, the US Central Bank increased its key rate by 75 basis points to the highest level since 2008 - 3-3.25%.

The combination of the technical and macroeconomic factors, according to the Dogifox CEO, may push bitcoin to the bottom at $14,000. If the coin collapses to these values, its correction will be 80% of the historical record of $69,000.

As for Ethereum, Merten expects the cryptocurrency to test the range of $800-$1,000, and at worst, the price may fall even lower.

However, there are also those who hold more positive views on the future of key players in the cryptocurrency market. Recently, Raoul Pal, a former top manager at financial conglomerate Goldman Sachs and current CEO of Real Vision, said that digital assets would experience strong growth in the coming year.

The analyst explains his optimism about the cryptocurrency market in the long term by the global economic crisis and Ethereum's Merge.

Thus, Pal believes that as ETH migrates to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm, miners who sell the altcoin every day will leave the market. As a result, there will be a reduction in supply and $6 billion in Ethereum will disappear from monthly sales. In this case, Bitcoin's main competitor will be less vulnerable to inflation.

In addition, the CEO of Real Vision believes that thanks to the permanently increasing demand, a declining supply of ETH, and the environmental problems of BTC, 2023 could be a very successful year for Ethereum.

Experts from analytical company Glassnode are confident that Bitcoin will continue to trade in the range of $17,000-$25,000 in the near term. At the same time, the tight monetary policy of the US Fed and other world regulators, as well as the negative macroeconomic background, will offset all the important positive developments in the crypto market.

Renowned cryptocurrency expert Ton Weiss recently said that BTC fans should prepare for a sharp drop in the coin. That said, the coming collapse of the asset may become "the last powerful decline before growth," Weiss said. The price may fall to $14,000-$15,000, where a good buy entry point is likely to occur. Bitcoin's drop to the specified lows, the analyst assumes, may happen already next week.

The crypto expert adds that such a decline in the market leader may trigger a drop in rates of other coins.