Cryptocurrency markets are trading down on Friday, alongside a drop in total short crypto liquidations to the lowest levels since February 2024. One week after the Bitcoin Halving, exchange net flows for Bitcoin witnessed a major drop of 227% to $114 million.
What Happened: Crypto markets experienced a shaky Friday late evening, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) trading in the red. Global concerns, such as the Japanese yen's tumble to a fresh 34-year low against the U.S. dollar, weighed on the stock and crypto markets.
Prices as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time:
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price |
| Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) | -1.4% | $63,876.32 |
| Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) | -1.1% | $3,139.89 |
| Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) | -2.2% | $0.1497 |
A development on the Asian market will see Chinese investors with a Hong Kong residence permit allowed to buy shares in the Hong Kong ETFs. The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at 2.36 trillion, down 1.07% in the past 24 hours. In the same period, 48,733 traders were liquidated, with total liquidations reaching 119.34 million.
Notably, crypto short liquidations as of April 26 at 3:30 pm ET stood at the lowest since February 2024, at $24.96 million. IntoTheBlock data highlights that Bitcoin exchange's net flows dropped significantly by 226.6% to 114.4 million, while large transaction volumes narrowed by 23.6% to $37.98 billion.
Top Losers
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price |
| Wormhole (CRYPTO: W) | -10.0% | $0.5994 |
| Pendle (CRYPTO: PENDLE) | -9.9% | $5.44 |
| Arweave (CRYPTO: AR) | -8.0% | $8.22 |
Also Read: Bitcoin's Consolidation Is The 'Calm Before The Storm,' Veteran Trader Lark Davis Writes
Analyst Notes: Crypto veteran trader Michaël van de Poppe states that Bitcoin is still stuck in a range. However, he expects altcoins to perform better.
#Bitcoin is still stuck in a range.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) April 26, 2024
I don't think we'll see much happening from here for the coming 3-6 months.
Slow sideways, perhaps a grind.
Expecting way more from #Altcoins. pic.twitter.com/akiD1uhTCU
Heavily-followed meme coin analyst and trader Murad shared potential price targets to determine whether the current range is accumulation or distribution.
My current base thinking on $BTC
— Murad (@MustStopMurad) April 26, 2024
Expecting continued chop suey in the purple box into the Summer
In that box, you have to look for clues whether this is re-accumulation or re-distribution
Re-accumulation –> 100K
Re-distribution –> 52K or 42K or 32K
Brush up on Macro pic.twitter.com/6YHvPoaG47
Crypto trader Tim estimates that the "crypto market will be much higher" and is holding his entire portfolio. He states, "If the ship goes down, I'll join you, but I think we'll go higher after May, and this is a consolidation phase before the next leg up." He strongly reaffirms that in all scenarios, crypto is here to stay and will grow.
What's Next: These topics are expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga's upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
Image created using artificial intelligence with Midjourney.