Why is the Crypto Market Down Today? BTC, ETH, XRP Lead Drop

The crypto market falling this day due to Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP losing their value. Bitcoin fell to nearly $85,700, which is over 3% drop. Ether dropped to less than $3,000 and XRP declined to approximately $1.89.

What Caused The Crypto Market Liquidations Today?

The selling pressure happened across the large-cap tokens. According to CoinMarketCap, Ethereum dropped by nearly 5% in 24 hours. The prices of XRP and BNB dropped in a similar manner. These pullbacks caused a decrease in the total value of the crypto market.

The leveraged positions began to unravel fast as the price dropped. This coincided with crypto volatility tied to options expiry, causing an increase in forced selling in the derivatives market.

Liquidation data showed that more than $600 million in crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours. Long positions accounted for over $514 million of those losses.

BoJ Rate Hike Fears Pressure Crypto Market

Macro uncertainty remains the primary trigger. Traders are positioning ahead of a possible Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike later this week. Even speculation around policy shifts has pressured risk assets. This risk sensitivity mirrors earlier market reactions highlighting that Bitcoin price faces drop as the odds of a BoJ rate hike soared.

Market analysts observe that the dynamic has been repeated on a number of occasions. Analysts at Milk Road reported that the previous three increases in rates by the BoJ were accompanied by sharp declines in BTC price.

In both scenarios, Bitcoin dropped by over 30%. Although the past cannot be a predictive factor, it is this trend that has made traders particularly sensitive to any change in Japanese monetary policies.

Can the BoJ Decision Shock the Crypto Market Again?

Analyst Lark Davis noticed that crypto and equity markets traded down together, and that indicated a coordinated risk-off trade associated with long-term positioning. Bitcoin, Ethereum, the Nasdaq and small-cap stocks showed the same losses. This further proves the hypothesis of traders de-risking before the BoJ decision.

Nevertheless, Michael Saylor-led Strategy made more Bitcoin purchases even during a period of increasing macro uncertainty. Also changing is the expectation on the effect itself.

Since the BoJ raises made over the recent past were unexpected, most traders believed that the next move is already anticipated by the market. Hence, this would diminish the likelihood of a massive post-decision shock. However, this may only change if the central bank announces a stiffer tightening action or indications of quicker rate increments in 2026.