bitcoin It fell below $90,000 on Sunday during a quiet session, with investors showing limited risk appetite ahead of a busy week of economic data and central bank events.
The largest cryptocurrency was trading around $89,600 in early afternoon UTC, down around 0.9% over 24 hours, slightly higher on the week and still down around 7.6% over the past month. Ether It changed hands around $3,104, down on the day but up more than 2% over the past seven days, outperforming bitcoin on a weekly basis.
Across the market, price action remained subdued. Cardano’s Solana, The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) fell almost 1%.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at almost $3.15 trillion, down about 0.8% in 24 hours, with trading volumes of around $89 billion, reflecting the poor liquidity typical on Sundays. Bitcoin’s dominance remained near 57%, highlighting the continued concentration in the largest digital asset as investors remain selective.
Some analysts warned that bitcoin consolidation could decline if key technical levels fail. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said Sunday on X that $86,000 remains an important level for Bitcoin to hold, noting that a deeper pullback could come into play if that support gives way.
Markets appear to be pausing ahead of a dense macroeconomic calendar in the coming days. In the US, investors will be watching a number of employment indicators, including the unemployment rate, ADP employment data and weekly jobless claims, along with November inflation data, preliminary December PMI readings and speeches by Federal Reserve Governors Stephen Miran and Christopher J. Waller, for clues on the path of interest rates.
Sensitive macro traders are also closely monitoring developments in Japan, where the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to raise interest rates at its next monetary policy meeting on Thursday. According to a Reuters report published on Friday, markets have largely priced in a move that would raise the rate to 0.75% after Governor Kazuo Ueda noted that inflation has remained above the central bank’s 2% target for more than three years.
While Japanese borrowing costs would remain low by global standards even after such a move, the report noted that the BOJ is likely to emphasize that monetary conditions will remain accommodative and that future rate increases will depend on how the economy responds to each increase. Still, expectations of tighter policy have drawn attention to the potential impact on yen-funded carry trades, a source of liquidity that has supported global risk assets including cryptocurrencies.
For now, crypto markets remain range-bound, with moderate volumes and limited conviction as traders await clearer signals from upcoming US data and central bank decisions.
