What
looked
like
prime
time
for
crypto
assets
on
softening
inflation
data
has
turned
into
an
ugly
week
with
bitcoin
(BTC)
tumbling
to
its
weakest
price
in
four
weeks
on
Friday.
BTC
tumbled
more
than
2%
in
an
hour
to
$65,100
during
the
U.S.
trading
session
from
around
the
$67,000
area.
The
leading
crypto
was
down
7.5%
over
the
past
seven
days.
Smaller
cryptocurrencies
saw
even
steeper
declines,
with
the
broad-market
benchmark
CoinDesk
20
Index
shedding
almost
12%
week-over-week.
Ether
(ETH)
dropped
to
$3,400,
losing
over
10%
during
this
period,
while
native
tokens
of
rival
layer-1
networks
Solana
(SOL),
Avalanche
(AVAX),
Cardano
(ADA)
and
Near
(NEAR)
sported
15%-20%
declines,
CoinGecko
data
shows.
The
swift
tumble
liquidated
nearly
$180
million
of
leveraged
derivatives
trading
positions
across
all
crypto
assets
over
the
past
24
hours,
most
of
them
longs
betting
on
higher
prices,
CoinGlass
data
shows.
This
week’s
shake-out
saw
a
total
of
over
$870
million
in
liquidations,
flushing
excess
leverage
from
markets.
Analysts
and
many
market
participants
just
a
few
days
ago
anticipated
an
imminent
breakout
for
bitcoin
to
new
record
highs,
supported
by
a
slower
pace
of
inflation
and
softer
economic
data,
but
attempts
for
rallies
were
quickly
sold
off,
leaving
BTC
stuck
in
its
sideways
range.
The
Federal
Reserve
this
Wednesday
projected
only
one
rate
cut
for
this
year,
less
than
the
central
bank’s
previous
forecast,
dashing
investor
hope
for
looser
monetary
policy
coming
this
summer.
Political
uncertainty
in
Europe
with
a
snap
election
being
called
in
France
also
pushed
the
U.S.
dollar
index
(DXY)
higher
against
other
major
currencies
to
its
strongest
level
in
more
than
a
month,
putting
pressure
on
bitcoin.
Bitcoin
also
struggled
with
increased
selling
from
miners
and
profit-taking
from
long-time
holders
near
the
$70,000
area,
10X
Research
noted,
weighing
on
the
broader
crypto
market.