Crypto Markets Under Pressure: Bitcoin and Ether Retreat Amidst Bearish Sentiment and Shifting Investor Preferences

Crypto Markets Under Pressure: Bitcoin and Ether Retreat Amidst Bearish Sentiment and Shifting Investor Preferences
The cryptocurrency market has recently experienced a significant downturn, marked by notable weakness across major assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). This bearish trend appears to be influenced by broader macroeconomic factors, including post-Federal Reserve pricing in options markets and the sustained resilience of the U.S. dollar index. Investors and analysts alike are closely monitoring these developments as digital assets navigate a period of heightened volatility. Market Downturn in Detail Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin saw a 2.6% decline, settling at approximately $112,700, while Ether experienced a more substantial drop of over 6%. This widespread weakness was not isolated to the top cryptocurrencies; the CoinDesk 20 Index, which reflects broad market sentiment, fell by nearly 8%, and the CoinDesk 80 Index recorded a 7.5% loss. These figures underscore a pervasive negative sentiment across the digital asset landscape. The ripple effect extended to U.S. crypto equities dur…