The previous week's rally across the crypto universe came to a sudden halt, sending tokens into a downward spiral.
This week, the aggregate crypto market cap dipped below the $2 trillion mark again, with sentiment looming in โextreme fearโ territory.
BTC's lackluster performance continues
Fear of an upcoming crypto crisis has gripped the market as the top cryptocurrency by market cap, Bitcoin (BTC), slipped below the $42,000 mark.
BTC has fallen more than 5% in the last seven sessions. More importantly, 24-hour trading volume saw a sizeable drop of almost 8%, suggesting that the downward momentum could continue to accelerate.
Even the ongoing BTC buying spree from Luna Foundation Guard has not had a significant impact on the value of BTC as it falls below critical support levels.
Earlier this week, The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) added 2,508 BTC worth over $100 million to its UST stash, bringing its total BTC count to 42,406.92. However, it still failed to move the needle on BTC price.
Meanwhile, US inflation rates for March soared to 8.5%, the most in over 40 years, further weighing on market sentiment despite the increasing application of Bitcoin as a hedge. inflationary.
At the same time, net weekly BTC outflows crossed the $134 million mark this week, the highest since early 2022. Taken together, these events have contributed to a substantial decline in Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D), which is currently hovering around 41%.
Monero, Shiba Inu, ApeCoin Climb
Even though nearly all of the prominent altcoins have returned significant value over the past seven sessions, a handful of altcoins, including Monero (XMR), ApeCoin (APE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB), have managed to gain ground.
SHIB is up almost 7%, mainly due to its latest listing on the Robinhood exchange after months of speculation. Additionally, the launch of the SHIB Metaverse and the recently added utility to the SHIB token have also helped SHIB evade the overall market downtrend.
Similarly, Monero (XMR) posted gains of around 8% this week, finally breaking above the multi-month resistance trend line. The possibility that entities can use Monero to circumvent sanctions has increased its popularity among investors, leading to its continued bull run.
ApeCoin (APE) is another altcoin that has successfully avoided the ongoing bloodbath, posting a nearly 18% gain over the past seven sessions. This upward trend comes on the heels of Coinbase's recent announcement related to the upcoming interactive animated movie series. Degen's trilogywith the BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club) NFTs as protagonists.
Broader altcoin market trims previous gains
Except for the coins mentioned above, the rest of the altcoin market has fallen sharply over the last seven sessions. Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Terra (LUNA), and Polkadot (DOT) are among the biggest losers this week, with each token posting near double-digit declines.
Cryptocurrency exchange Robinhoodโs recent announcement to list SOL on its platform failed to lift the value of SOL, with the native Solana token down nearly 9% over the past week.
However, the good news is that Solana's recent NFT marketplace integration and dApp metrics indicate an increase in user activity on the network, with the platform now ranking third in terms of total NFT sales from all the times.
After weeks of dominating the charts, Terra (LUNA) fell below critical support levels. Over the last seven sessions, LUNA lost nearly 20% of its total value despite its BTC accumulation spree.
Along with the sharp drop in prices, LUNA has also taken a heavy hit to its daily trading volume, which has dropped by more than 15% in the last 24 hours.
According to market insiders, uncertainties about LUNA's combustion mechanism may cause LUNA's price to drop further in the coming weeks.
Cardano (ADA) and Polkadot (DOT) are down nearly 10% each, despite activity on both networks hitting the highest points since the mainnet launched. Other notable altcoins also met the same fate, with most of the previous week's winners posting double-digit losses.
Paris Blockchain Week, Ariana Grande's fundraiser
Europe's premier blockchain conference, the Paris Blockchain Week (PBWS) Summit, is currently in full swing at the Palais Brongniart in Paris, with an all-star lineup including some of the biggest names of the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystems.
In another show of pop culture adoption, artist Ariana Grande has announced that her charity "Protect and Defend Trans Youth Fund" will now accept donations in cryptocurrency through the Pledge fundraising platform.
The platform's recently launched PledgeCrypto feature allows nonprofits to accept donations in more than 130 cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, leading cryptocurrency wallet Metamask has expanded its institutional offerings by entering into strategic partnerships with custodians including Hex Trust, Parfin, Gnosis Safe, and GK8.
Finally, Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum developer, faces 63 months in prison and a $100,000 fine for helping North Koreans evade sanctions using cryptocurrencies.
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