Crypto markets shed $40 billion in 24 hours as regulators around the world take a dim view of cryptocurrencies and ICOs and as Bitcoin struggles to break below $30k. The bloodbath started late Sunday evening when the major cryptocurrencies dropped across the board by at least 5%. BTC is on track for a 27% decline this month, although it is up 10% from its recent extreme low at $25,840 on May 12. It is now down almost 50% from its all-time high of $68,000 in November last year. 

ETH is also trading at its lowest point since last October. ETH has lost around 5% in the past 24 hours alone. Other altcoins are also suffering at the moment, with many of them down around 10% in the last week. Solana and Avalanche lost about 7% in the past 24 hours. Another altcoin that’s having a rough time is Cardano’s ADA, down about 5% on the date. GMT is also down by almost 40% this week after making strides a couple of weeks back. 

Crypto traders are still in panic-mode after experiencing almost nine consecutive weeks of negative returns. The prolonged slump of cryptocurrencies may push investors to take money off the table and sit on the sidelines until there is fresh momentum in the market and prices start to recover.

Analysts have commented that the cryptocurrency market will remain in a similar state until “macro sentiment” is more positive and “investors see that they can take advantage of price movements.”

NFTs could be next to crash

NFT transactions have slowed, and even decreased 92% from this time last year. Some market experts believe that the current bear market is to blame. 

Morgan Stanley is predicting that NFTs will experience a serious crash after growing rapidly in popularity last year. A representative from the bank said NFTs are “over-hyped” and there’s “too much” supply in the market. He warned that “the bubble will burst sooner than later.”  

It could be due to a general decrease in hype, fear of scams after so many high-profile ones, or it could be people tightening their belts. Whatever the cause, some crypto traders are issuing warnings of a “bubble” and cautioning people to stay away until things settle down a bit. The decline is causing some crypto whales to sell off huge chunks of their holdings at low prices, which could accelerate price declines even further.

Hard lessons from the crypto crash

Ethereum co-founder Gavid Wood has advised crypto traders to “pay more attention” to price movements if they want to make money in the volatile markets.Traders should be willing to “lose money” if they expect to make money in the crypto markets in the long term. “If you’re trading and you expect to make money short-term…maybe you should be trading other things where you know you’ll make money short-term.” In a statement to Reuters, he said that he would hope that folks pay more attention to what is belying the currency name when they get into a community, ecosystem, or economy.