We are only ten days into March, but volatility in the crypto markets has increased, with both Bitcoin and Ethereum falling to two-month lows. The collapse of Silvergate Bank was one of the major factors leading to the bearish sentiment this month, with bitcoin currently trading below $20,000 With just over three weeks left in March, what will happen next?
Current market conditions
US nonfarm payrolls were released earlier today and came in at 311,000, beating expectations of 205,000, but unlike the previous month, this was of little significance.
This was due to the failure of two banks, first Silvergate Bank and then Silicon Valley Bank, which moved to cease operations.
Of these, crypto lender Silvergate in particular failed to file its annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), threatening the market in recent days.
In addition to this, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed may raise interest rates more than originally expected as the Fed continues to battle inflation.
March Outlook
All of these factors contributed to this month’s red wave, which was mostly present in the first few days of March.
Earlier in today’s session,BTC/USD fell to a low of $19,628.25, its weakest point since January 13.
This move occurred after a key price floor of $20,300, and bulls are attempting to push prices back toward this level.
In the big picture, a sell-off meansBTCis now severely oversold with the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 27.22.
This is the weakest reading since November, which is a positive for bulls because it indicates a near bottom, if not already a bottom, in the long term.
In this case, bitcoin could gradually rebound in the coming weeks and consolidate after the Fed’s rate hike decision.
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