The valuation of the entire cryptocurrency market has declined to $253 billion, down $100 billion over the past week. The price of most major cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash dropped by more than 13 percent throughout March 30.

Slump Continues

Over the past 24 hours, the price of bitcoin dropped from $7,900 to $6,600, recording a 12.6 percent decline in value. Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash all declined by more than 12 percent, as the market lost over $40 billion within a two-day span.

Both bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market have not seen these levels since early February, when the price of bitcoin dipped to $6,000. After reaching its bottom at $6,000, the price of bitcoin spiked to $12,000, reaching $14,000 in regions with substantial premiums, including South Korea and Hong Kong.

Although bitcoin has shown some resistance at the $6,600 mark, it has also demonstrated minimal signs of recovery. Volumes on most exchanges including Binance, Bitfinex, Bithumb, Bitflyer, and Upbit remain relatively low, but the volumes on futures markets are intensifying, as CCN previously reported.

Several analysts including Wall Street-based Fundstrat’s Tom Lee have stated that bitcoin is still on track to end the year at $20,000, especially if the market can initiate a mid-term recovery within the upcoming months.

Abra CEO Bill Barhydt stated that while the demand towards the cryptocurrency market has been non-existent from institutional investors and retailer traders in the west, that certainly has not been the case in Asia.

“There really is zero large-scale institutional money from the west in crypto right now. That is happening in Japan. Once a large sizable chunk of Western institutional money starts to come in — watch out,” said Barhydt.

Given the lack of volumes, it is likely that the cryptocurrency market could continue to fall in the next few days. However, if bitcoin fails to sustain its volumes and the price of the most dominant cryptocurrency in the market falls below the $6,000 mark, it could lead the market to another bear cycle.

Where Does the Market Go From Here?

Barhydt stated that hedge funds, institutional investors, and investment firms are still actively looking into the cryptocurrency market, and exploring ways to enter the market. He emphasized that hedge funds will likely see a window of opportunity to enter into the cryptocurrency market when the market stabilizes and extreme volatility of bitcoin and other major digital currencies subside.

“I talk to hedge funds, high net worth individuals, even commodity speculators. They look at the volatility in the crypto markets and they see it as a huge opportunity. Once that happens, all hell will break loose. Once the floodgates are opened, they’re opened.”