The last 24 hours have offered a new wave of instability for the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin (BTC) slipped to as low as $80,000 before the bulls recovered some of the losses.

The alternative coins have followed the negative performance of the leading digital asset, with many of them charting substantial losses. 

Another Downtrend for BTC

Despite its brief spikes, Bitcoin has been on an evident downfall in the past several days. As CryptoPotato reported, the price consolidated at around $86,000 over the weekend, but the bulls had to take another blow with the start of the business week. 

A few hours ago, BTC tanked to as low as $80,000, resulting in multi-million liquidations on a 24-hour scale. Since then, though, the asset stepped on the gas pedal again, recovering to almost $84,000 (per CoinGecko’s data).

The enhanced volatility is expected to continue in the short term due to some upcoming events. One of those is the latest US CPI report scheduled for March 12. It will reveal the inflation rate in the world’s biggest economy, which could trigger an interest rate adjustment by the Federal Reserve. Historically, such efforts have affected BTC’s price performance. 

Meanwhile, the asset’s market capitalization stands at approximately $1.66 trillion, while its dominance against the altcoins is almost the same as on March 9 – around 58.1%.

Alts Turn Red, too

The altcoins have also gone into red territory. At one point, Ethereum (ETH) collapsed to a multi-year low of under $2,000. It later recovered some of the losses, and as of this writing, it is worth around $2,120. 

Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Toncoin (TON), and many more have performed quite poorly, too. For its part, Pi Network (PI) continues to suffer and is now worth around $1.43, representing a 14% decline on a weekly scale. 

The very few top 100 cryptocurrencies that have charted some gains in the last 24 hours include Ethena (ENA), Aave (AAVE), and Story (IP). 

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization currently stands at roughly $2.82 trillion, representing a 5% decrease for the day.

TL;DR

• XRP dropped below $2.20, mirroring a broader crypto market decline.

• However, some analysts remain optimistic, predicting a rally to $5 and beyond if the price holds key support.

XRP Bleeds Heavily

Ripple’s XRP witnessed a substantial resurgence on March 3, with its valuation climbing to just over $3. Nonetheless, in the following days, it dived into red territory, and as of this writing, it trades at approximately $2.18 (per CoinGecko’s data).

Its negative performance coincides with the broader decline of the cryptocurrency sector, whose total market capitalization plummeted below $2.8 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly slipped to $80,000, while Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), and many more leading altcoins have also charted substantial losses. 

The price decrease of Ripple’s native token also aligns with numerous on-chain metrics that have headed south in the past 24 hours. Those include the number of XRP payments from one account to another, the number of active accounts, the number of executed transactions, and others. 

The decline of these metrics typically signals a drop in on-chain activity. It also suggests fewer people are onboarding the ecosystem, potentially indicating weaker adoption or less interest from new users.

Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Contrary to the recent red landscape, numerous industry participants believe XRP has yet to shine during this cycle.

X user Ali Martinez thinks that if the price avoids dropping below “the head-and-shoulders neckline” of just north of $2, it could invalidate the bearish pattern. “This move might trigger a bullish breakout toward $5,” he predicted.

Other market observers who chipped in lately include Dark Defender and EGRAG CRYPTO. The former suggested that XRP successfully broke the multi-year resistance line in November 2024 and tested previous resistance as support. 

“I’ve never seen XRP bullish more than this before,” Dark Defender stated. 

For their part, EGRAG CRYPTO envisioned a price explosion to the $27-$222 range. It is important to note that reaching such high levels would require XRP’s market cap to explode to at least $1.5 trillion. This forecast seems unlikely with the asset’s current capitalization under $130 billion.

El Salvador has increased its Bitcoin holdings, purchasing 6 BTC on March 10 instead of its usual 1 BTC per day.

This is occurring against a backdrop of increased pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop its BTC accumulation strategy.

El Salvador Remains Committed to Strategy

The National Bitcoin Office announced the development on March 10  via X, revealing that in addition to its regular 1 BTC daily buy, the government acquired 5 more BTC. This brings the country’s total Bitcoin reserves to 6,111.18, valued at approximately $493 million at current market prices.

The latest buy comes as Bitcoin’s price continues to decline, hovering just above $80,000 at the start of the week. El Salvador has previously made similar bulk purchases outside of its daily buying routine. The country added 12 BTC on January 19, followed by 11 BTC on February 4, and another 5 BTC on March 3.

In December 2024, the Salvadoran government secured a $1.4 billion financing agreement with the IMF. As part of the deal, the nation agreed to revoke Bitcoin’s status as legal tender and limit public sector involvement with the cryptocurrency.

The financial institution has consistently voiced concerns about the country’s BTC adoption, warning of financial risks. While some expected the agreement to scale back its accumulation strategy, the latest acquisition shows that the government remains active in increasing its holdings.

IMF Pressure Continues

Further pressure from the IMF surfaced on March 3, when the organization filed a new request for an extended arrangement under its fund facility for El Salvador.

The technical memorandum outlined a condition that prohibited voluntary BTC accumulation by the public sector. Additionally, it called for restrictions on issuing any public sector debt or tokenized instruments linked to the flagship cryptocurrency.

Despite these conditions, President Nayib Bukele remains committed to the holding strategy. Responding to the organization’s latest demands, the head of state dismissed the external pressure as ‘whining,’ saying that the Central American country would not stop its purchases any time soon.

“No, it’s not stopping. If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most ‘Bitcoiners’ abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future,” he declared in a statement posted on X.