Bitcoin drops below $77,000, Ethereum hits 16-month low amid US recession fears

Major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, and Dogecoin, extended their losses on Tuesday, March 11, as concerns over U.S. economic growth intensified. Investors worried that escalating trade tensions could slow down the U.S. economy and push it into recession.

Market sentiment weakened further after U.S. President Donald Trump, in a Fox News interview, spoke about a "period of transition" but avoided predicting whether his tariff policies could lead to a recession. His comments added to investor uncertainty, triggering declines across cryptocurrencies, stocks, and the U.S. dollar, while Treasury yields also fell.

As of 10:46 AM IST, Bitcoin dropped 3.2% to $79,937 after touching a day's low of $76,624. Ethereum tumbled 7.5% to $1,911, while the global crypto market cap fell 4.3% to $2.6 trillion in the last 24 hours.


Among altcoins, Solana lost 4%, XRP declined 3.5%, Cardano fell 3.2%, and Dogecoin slumped 8.5%.

"The crypto market is seeing its major downturn with Bitcoin falling under $80,000 and Ethereum recording a 16-month low of around $1,800. Fears of a coming recession and the overall market sell-offs are spurring this pullback," said Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO, Pi42.

Macroeconomic concerns, including inflation and interest rate policies, are driving volatility, not just in crypto but across risk assets, Shekhar said.

Edul Patel, Cofounder and CEO of Mudrex, said, "The upcoming Job Openings and Labor Turnover data would be crucial for bulls to take control. A positive outcome data could help BTC reclaim the $84,000 mark, maintaining its momentum above the 200-day moving average."

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Bitcoin’s market capitalization slipped to $1.585 trillion, with dominance at 61.04%. Its 24-hour trading volume surged 53.14% to $58.13 billion, while stablecoin volumes accounted for 94.16% of total crypto trading at $145.85 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

"Bitcoin's ability to reclaim and hold $80,000 remains critical for overall market stability, with significant long liquidation levels positioned at $76,000 and $74,000, making them key downside targets if weakness persists," said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.

Also Read: Kiyosaki rejects Bitcoin ETFs: Why he prefers real BTC over paper assets

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)