Bitcoin Registers Largest Hourly Loss in 4 Months, Altcoins Follow

Investors have embarked on a modest “buy-the-dip” campaign after the recent price slump.

Bitcoin (BTC) recently registered its most considerable hourly loss of over 5% for the first time since the FTX blowout. The sudden price dip caused a ripple effect that saw several altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Shiba Inu (SHIB) record even greater declines.

The firstborn crypto dropped by 5.42% between 01:00 and 02:00 (UTC) today, its biggest hourly decline since the November crash. Consequently, BTC’s market cap saw a loss of $22B. According to Santiment, this has triggered a “buy-the-dip” campaign from investors. Social platforms, including Twitter, Discord, Reddit, and Telegram, have seen an uptick in buy calls.

? It's been 4 months since #Bitcoin dropped 5% or more in a single hour. But as of an hour ago (1am-2am UTC), we saw this streak get broken. A quick recovery will be dependent on how much worry the crowd shows, allowing whales to scoop weak-handed coins. https://t.co/rDqnHuU8y7 pic.twitter.com/D0L5FNsN9o

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 3, 2023

Following the drop, BTC recorded a mild 0.90% gain the next hour, but a comeback is still not in sight. Santiment asserted that recovery would be triggered by a considerably high level of panic across the markets, triggering a transfer of assets from small shaky holders to more resolute whale addresses.

Expectedly, the drop in BTC’s value had an unfavorable impact on all risk assets on the top 10 list. ETH fell by 5.49%, Dogecoin experienced the largest drop with an 8.31% dip, Litecoin plummeted by 7.56%, and Cardano saw a 6.17% decline. XRP was the least impacted, as it registered a 4.55% decrease. Overall, $46B was wiped from the entire crypto market cap.

In the wake of Bitcoin’s dip, Shiba Inu collapsed by a massive 7.49% in one hour, dropping to $0.000001111. Although the asset has increased by 2.79% since then, its goal to recoup the latest loss has not materialized. The asset is currently changing hands at $0.00001142.

Santiment linked the latest downturn to concerns surrounding Silvergate’s delay in releasing its 10-K filing with the SEC. Silvergate is one of the most prominent banks responsible for processing crypto transactions. Concerns of Silvergate’s health had risen in the wake of the FTX collapse. The latest development has triggered speculations of an implosion.

Silvergate's death spiral is going to be rough for crypto.

I don't think retail investors realize how much market maker money moved around quickly via SEN, and how many crypto exchanges were/are banking with them.

Stock almost down to its ATL after hours.

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) March 1, 2023