Bitcoin's Plunge Below $105,000 Sends Crypto Market Cap to Lowest Level Since July

Core Insights - The cryptocurrency market is experiencing significant losses, primarily driven by a renewed sell-off in Bitcoin, which fell 5.6% to an intraday low of $104,853, leading to a total market capitalization decline of 5.9% to $3.64 trillion, the lowest since July [1][2]. Market Dynamics - The sell-off was triggered by a flight to safety due to concerns over the stability of the U.S. regional banking sector, with issues reported at lenders like Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance causing a sharp decline in bank shares, which affected risk assets including cryptocurrencies [2][3]. - As risk appetite diminished across all markets, altcoins faced significant corrections, with Ethereum dropping 7.4%, and other cryptocurrencies like XRP, Solana, Tron, Dogecoin, and Cardano experiencing losses between 4% and 9%. BNB saw a more substantial decline of 12.3% [3][4]. Liquidation and Market Sentiment - The widespread sell-off resulted in total liquidations reaching $1.09 billion, with Bitcoin and Ethereum traders accounting for over 55% of this total [4]. - Despite the current bearish sentiment, there is an underlying optimism for a potential recovery in the broader crypto markets, as indicated by a 66% chance of Bitcoin closing October with more positive price movements than Ethereum [4]. - However, short-term trader sentiment remains bearish, with a market prediction showing a 68% chance that Bitcoin's next move will take it down to $100,000 rather than up to $120,000 [5].