- Bitcoin dropped 17.7%, falling to $79K as it broke key levels, leading to more fears
- Altcoins followed BTC’s slide as coins saw losses, with traders questioning the sell-off.
- Bybit lost $1.4 billion in a security breach as hackers stole large amounts of Ethereum
Bitcoin’s price plummeted by $17,036, marking a 17.7% decline from $96,264 to $79,226 within a week. The drop shattered critical Fibonacci retracement levels, breaking below the 50% mark at $94,578 before breaching the 61.8% support at $88,022. The decline extended toward the 78.6% retracement at $78,688, where Bitcoin is now attempting to stabilize. Analysts warn that if the token fails to reclaim lost ground, it may approach the 100% retracement at $66,798.
Source: Tradingview
The decline followed an unsuccessful breakout from a triangle pattern, confirmed by a decisive bearish candlestick. The MACD indicator shows a weakening momentum, with its line at -2,127 falling below the signal line at 6,255. Additionally, the histogram turned red, reflecting growing bearish pressure. Experts are closely monitoring the $78,688 support level, as further losses could push Bitcoin toward the 127.2% Fibonacci extension at $51,686.
Altcoins and Gold Prices Mirror Bitcoin’s Downturn
As reported by CryptoTale, the market followed Bitcoin’s falling trajectory, with several altcoins recording double-digit losses. Crypto Aman, a market analyst, noted the intensified sell-off, questioning, “Altcoins are bleeding. Who is selling?” AI (AI/USDT) dropped 17.24%, while XAI (XAI/USDT) declined 15.25%. EIGEN (EIGEN/USDT) fell 16.46%, with ARB (ARB/USDT) down 12.19%. Other notable declines included ZRO (-13.16%), MANTA (-12.23%), and STRK (-11.31%). LINK (LINK/USDT) dropped 10.28%, whereas APT (APT/USDT) and NEAR (NEAR/USDT) fell 7.90% and 8.55%, respectively.
Gold prices also experienced a decline, which ended up marking their worst weekly decline since November 2024. Spot gold is currently trading at $2,864.33 per ounce, implying it reduced by 2.5% for the week, despite posting an increase of 2.2% in February.
Related: Crypto Market Faces Downfall After Bitcoin Crashes Below $80K
Bybit Suffers $1.5 Billion Security Breach
The Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange faced a historic security breach earlier, wherein it lost $1.4B ETH. The FBI attributed the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, also known as TraderTraitor. The hackers exploited a routine transfer from Bybit’s cold wallet to a warm wallet, seizing 401,000 Ethereum tokens.Bybit CEO Ben Zhou confirmed that the breach involved a coded transaction from the exchange’s multi-signature to a warm wallet. The attack interfered with the smart contract’s logic, enabling hackers to divert funds to addresses. The stolen assets were converted into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies before being dispersed across many blockchain accounts.
