Bitcoin Stagnates at $96,000 Amidst Broader Crypto Market Slump as Altcoins Struggle to Gain Traction

The cryptocurrency market has been rather inactive over the weekend, exhibiting minimal fluctuations. On Monday, February 17, Bitcoin experienced a decline of 1.55 percent on global exchanges, pricing at $96,019 (approximately Rs. 83.2 lakh), as per CoinMarketCap. A similar pattern was noted on Indian exchanges, where Gadgets 360’s crypto price tracker listed Bitcoin at $99,734 (around Rs. 86.5 lakh) after a 1.50 percent decrease in the last 24 hours.

“The markets are gradually drifting lower as Bitcoin is once again testing the $96,200 (around Rs. 83.4 lakh) threshold. If BTC manages to maintain this position, we could see a slight recovery rally before the next significant movement,” reported the CoinSwitch markets desk to Gadgets 360.

Ether suffered a 1.15 percent loss on international platforms over the past day. The second-highest priced cryptocurrency is currently trading at $2,666 (roughly Rs. 2.31 lakh) globally. On Indian exchanges, Ether’s price fell by 1.30 percent, bringing it to $2,664 (about Rs. 2.31 lakh) on Monday.

In addition to Bitcoin and Ether, the downturn in the market has adversely affected most altcoins’ price levels.

Gadgets 360’s crypto price tracker indicated declines for Ripple, Binance Coin, Solana, Dogecoin, and Chainlink on Monday.

Other altcoins such as Stellar, Avalanche, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, and Leo also reported losses in the past 24 hours.

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies dropped by 1.44 percent, reducing the sector’s valuation to $3.19 trillion (approximately Rs. 2,76,65,828 crore), as per CoinMarketCap on Monday.

In contrast, stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin remained stable, maintaining their 1:1 value with the US dollar.

Cardano, Tron, Cronos, and Bitcoin SV recorded modest gains on the price charts on Monday, as did Polygon, Iota, Status, and Circuits of Value.

The market is undergoing various changes, contributing to high volatility and overshadowing overall market momentum for the foreseeable future.

“In a recent development, Grayscale and NYSE have filed for the first US Cardano ETF with the SEC to list the Grayscale Cardano Trust. Furthermore, lawyers in Argentina have lodged fraud allegations in criminal court against President Javier Milei after he initially launched and later retracted the LIBRA memecoin. Additionally, India confiscated cryptocurrencies valued at nearly $190 million (approximately Rs. 1,647 crore) connected to the infamous BitConnect scam, which deceived 4,000 investors across 95 nations in 2018. These factors illustrate why the weekend failed to generate the necessary bullish momentum,” stated the CoinDCX Research Team to Gadgets 360.

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