More Dips than Gains: Volatility Strikes Crypto Sector Hard as March Draws Closer to End

Crypto sector continues to reel under market instability in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict nearing a month of violence. On Monday, March 21, Bitcoin opened trading with a minor loss of 0.39 percent. The oldest cryptocurrency managed to retain its price at $42,168 (roughly Rs. 32 lakh) despite the miniscule loss that it saw, as per Indian exchange CoinSwitch Kuber. BTC saw slightly bigger losses on international exchanges. On Binance and Coinbase for instance, Bitcoin prices were slashed by 1.20 percent, taking its trading value to around $40,474 (roughly Rs. 31 lakh).

Majority altcoins on Monday struggled on the price charts, hungover by constant fluctuations in market sentiment and losses, as per Gadgets 360's crypto price tracker

While Binance Coin, Ripple, and Cardano saw losses of less than one percent, Terra, Solana, and Avalanche fell by 5.79 percent, 3.56 percent, and 3.86 percent, respectively.

Prices of meme coins Shiba Inu and Dogecoin resumed another week of trading with losses of around 2 percent.

In a refreshing change of pace, Ether did not follow Bitcoin into a dip.

The world's second most-valued cryptocurrency by market cap saw small gains and added greens on the price charts. With a profit of 0.44 percent, ETH is trading at $2,907 (roughly Rs. 2 lakh), as per CoinMarketCap.

A bunch of other altcoins also netted gains including Tether, USD Coin, Binance USD, and Chainlink.

Underdog cryptocurrencies like Stellar, and Monero, Qtum, SushiSwap, Augur, DOGEFI, and Bitcoin Hedge bagged minor gains.

Industry insiders are banking on the upcoming regulatory frameworks to add stability to cryptocurrencies.

In recent days, Dubai got approvals for its crypto laws, US President Joe Biden signed executive orders on the government oversight of the cryptocurrency industry, and the EU ruled against Bitcoin ban, making for imperative decisions shaping the future of crypto.

The Australian government has also reportedly begun asking businesses and individuals for feedback on its plan to refresh the licensing and custody parameters for digital assets.

“As some of the most influential nations continue to acknowledge the importance and role of digital assets in today's financial landscape, such regulatory policies will likely strengthen the industry — preventing illegal activities and injecting greater legitimacy and trust amongst mainstream and traditional investors, further cementing crypto's position in finance,” the research team at CoinDCX told Gadgets 360.

Meanwhile, the overall market cap of the crypto sector has hiked by a bit over the weekend. At the time of writing, the crypto sector is valued at $1.84 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,40,62,231 crore) as per CoinMarketCap.

On March 17, the same figure was $1.82 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,38,57,131 crore).

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.