Market Update: Plustoken BTC Moves, Crypto Prices Dive, Coronavirus Cripples Global Markets

Cryptocurrency markets lost more than $30 billion in the last 24 hours as digital asset prices have been slashed alongside traditional stock and commodity markets. Further, crypto proponents have spied Plustoken bitcoins on the move again and speculators assume that 13,000 BTC ($102M) might have invoked the weekend’s massive sell-off. Additionally, global markets have been distraught from coronavirus fears as U.S. 10-year bonds and oil prices tanked on Sunday evening.

Also read: Market Update: Coronavirus Fears, Stock Market Crash, and Bitcoin Price Predictions

Stocks Markets Plunge, and Crypto Markets Shed $30 Billion During Sell-Off

Investors are scrambling to find a safe haven while global markets have been faltering to the lowest levels in years. On Monday morning, after the NYSE bell rang, futures on the three main U.S. indexes dropped significantly more than 4% for each index. On Sunday evening (EST), while traditional stocks and commodities started being traded in Asia, U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropped to a new all-time low of 0.318%. Oil markets tanked as well as prices fell to levels not seen since 1991. On Monday, oil rebounded a touch trading at $32.17 a barrel but overall it took a 22% cut during the weekend.

Global markets have suffered a great deal on Monday morning (March 9, 2020) and everything is in the red. At press time, all three major stock indexes have lost considerable value.

Digital currency markets started dropping on Saturday after BTC touched a March high of $9,125 per coin. BTC is down more than 10% on Monday and prices are hovering around $7,600-7,750 at press time. BTC still has around 63% market dominance among the 5,000+ cryptos in existence with the cryptoconomy valued at $226 billion today. According to Messari.io, BTC has around $2 billion in “real” global trade volume but reported volume is around $48 billion.

BTC/USD prices on March 9, 2020.

Ethereum (ETH) is also down more than 9.3% in the last 24 hours and each ETH is trading for $200 per coin. ETH has lost 12.4% for the week as most of the losses stem from the weekend’s crypto market downturn. XRP has lost 9.5% in the last day and more than 13% for the last week of trading. Each XRP is swapping for $0.20 per token and reported trade volume on Monday is around $3 billion (“real volume 24H” is $215M).

The top 10 crypto markets on March 9, 2020. Most digital assets on Monday are down more than 9% in value except for the stablecoin tether (USDT). Reported tether (USDT) trade today is around $67.8 billion but Messari.io shows “real volume” is around $2.2 billion on Monday.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH/USD) Market Action

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) market action like most coins has been following the downward path. BCH is trading for $265 per coin today and prices are down 14% in the last 24 hours. The weekly percentage is lower as BCH has lost 18.6% in the last seven days. With all things considered, BCH is still up in the last 90 days by 32% and 105% for the last 12 months. The top three pairs traded with bitcoin cash on Monday includes USDT (69.4%), BTC (14.9%), and USD (9.6%).

BCH/USD prices on March 9, 2020.

Fxstreet John Isige has noticed a “falling wedge” pattern which might give a hopeful outlook to bitcoin cash traders. “[BCH] buyers defend $260 support, resulting in a shallow recovery above $270,” Isige wrote on Monday. “A forming falling wedge pattern is BCH/USD blessing in disguise, likely to support recovery to $350,” the analyst added.

Plustoken Scammers May Have Prompted the Dump

It seems the Plustoken scammers may be up to no good again and they seem to be selling bitcoins acquired from their billion-dollar scheme. Market observers witnessed 13,000 BTC sent to bitcoin mixers and crypto speculators assume the scammers are selling.

~13k in new PlusToken mixer deposits in last 24 hrs.

Almost all previous mixer deposit change has entered mixing, confirming my theory.

Distributions still on/off. Much slower than September and November.

New report and full sit rep imminent. pic.twitter.com/vwrBuVk272

— Ergo ∴TxIDs Or It Didn't Happen∴ (@ErgoBTC) March 6, 2020

Signalprofits.com executive Jacob Canfield said there are three “bearish narratives” right now that “could be impacting bitcoin.” “Coronavirus (all markets selling off), miner hoarding (typically strong bearish indication), and the Plustoken scam dumping on the market again. (They moved 19k bitcoin yesterday),” Canfield tweeted. “Never long when Plustoken moves bitcoin,” the investor also added. The Plustoken sell-off theory is definitely making the rounds within crypto publication headlines, forums, and social media. “The sudden drop in prices seems to arise out of the selling of BTC by Plustoken,” Ashish Singhal, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinswitch.co told the reporter Omkar Godbole on Monday.

Coronavirus and Crypto

In addition to the Plustoken news, the coronavirus outbreak and the effect on cryptocurrency markets has been a widely discussed subject as well. Market maniac Holger Zschäpitz tweeted about the overall situation on Monday morning. “Global markets in panic mode,” Zschäpitz wrote. “Oil prices crashed, equities plunged, currencies and bonds saw wild moves as a full-blown price war in crude add to coronavirus worries. Nikkei down almost 6%. U.S. 10y yields [negative] 0.5%. Brent Oil at $32/bbl. Gold $1,673. Bitcoin in turmoil as well, plunged [below] $8k.”

Many cryptocurrency proponents are wondering how digital assets will hold up as the coronavirus outbreak wrecks global markets. On Monday, March 9, 2020, there’s 111,753 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,888 deaths worldwide.

In a note to investors on Monday morning, Etoro market analyst Simon Peters discussed crypto assets and the Covid-19 pandemic as well. Peters noted that the pandemic is a black swan event and the unexpected occurrence has had a major impact on stock markets. Peters stressed that during times of crisis, investors often “look for hedges outside of the traditional markets, with gold usually being the first choice.”

“During recent scares, such as the threat of war in the Middle East earlier in the year, we have seen a flight to crypto-assets like bitcoin,” Peters’s note disclosed. “This suggests investors are starting to see crypto assets as a hedge because they are decentralised and free from government intervention. It could be that the general downward sentiment of the markets and other commodities, such as oil, has also become a drag on crypto asset values this time around. However, I remain bullish about bitcoin, with a variety of models, such as Stock-to-Flow, pointing to a solid run over the next 24 months,” the analyst added. Peters concluded by stating:

In my view, bitcoin will break $20,000 over the next six months.

Store of Value and Stock-to-Flow Pundits Criticized

Crypto Twitter on Monday was filled with memes and jokes about the “store of value” gang and believers in the stock-to-flow (S2F) scenario. After BTC prices dropped like a rock this weekend and gold prices touched the $1,702 range, Gold bug Peter Schiff mocked bitcoiners who believe BTC is a store of value.

Gold prices on March 9, 2020. The devastated stock and commodity markets worldwide have not affected gold prices and in fact, the price of gold has risen significantly.

“Bitcoin was created after the 2008 financial crisis and hodlers always assumed that it would be the safe-haven of choice during the next,” Schiff tweeted. “Looks like they assumed wrong. If bitcoin is not a currency, not a store of value, and not a safe haven, then what is it and why own it?” Schiff further asked.

U.S Government Bonds 10 YR yield down 51% in one day….not even Bitcoin has seen a percentage drop like this in a single day, ever.

Yet #bitcoin is “too volatile to be a store of value” 🙄 pic.twitter.com/bRh96b2YbM

— 🏔DenverBitcoin🏔 (@denverbitcoin) March 9, 2020

However, BTC believers totally disagree and on Sunday the well known S2F expert Planb said BTC prices are still following the S2F track. “S2F chart adjusted for today’s “crash” … nothing really happened, BTC still spot on S2F track,” Planb tweeted. Cointext CTO Vin Armani noted on Twitter that BTC buyers two years ago are now down. Armani tweeted:

If you took USD and bought BTC two years ago and held it until today, you have less wealth, in USD value than if you had stuffed that USD under your mattress.

To so many of you out there these days pic.twitter.com/7zY4WJMNnt

— Eric Wall IS RIGHT (@ercwl) March 7, 2020

Overall, a great majority of crypto participants on social media and forums are discussing the crypto market downturn and many are guessing what will happen next. So far, digital currency markets are not following the hedge trend Etoro’s Simon Peters has seen in the past. Schiff and gold bugs have been reveling in the fact that gold prices have been following the safe-haven trend. On Monday, gold prices are hovering around $1675 per ounce and the current global market crisis has bolstered its value even more so.

Where do you see the cryptocurrency markets heading from here? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: Price articles and market updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.” Cryptocurrency prices referenced in this article were recorded on Monday, March 9, 2020, at 11:55 am EST.

Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, Bitcoin.com Markets, Twitter, goldprice.org, Fair Use, Pixabay, and Wiki Commons.

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