Leading cryptocurrencies sold off Sunday evening as President Donald Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession.

What Happened: Bitcoin tumbled to $80,000 overnight, plunging over 7% in the last 24 hours. This was the steepest drop for the apex cryptocurrency since it fell below $80,000 ten days ago. 

Bitcoin's decline sent ripples through the rest of the market, with leading assets like Ethereum and Dogecoin going blood red just before the start of a new trading week.

Over $615 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with $540 million in upside bets getting wiped out.

Bitcoin's Open Interest fell 2.62% in the last 24 hours, while Ethereum witnessed a 5.57% decline in money locked in its derivatives market.

That said, traders were buying the dip as the number of long positions for Bitcoin dramatically surged vis-à-vis shorts, according to the Long/Short Ratio.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index moved back into the "Extreme Fear" zone, signaling a bearish sentiment.

Top Gainers (24-Hours)

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.65 trillion, plunging 6.74% in the last 24 hours.

Stock futures plummeted on Sunday evening. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures fell 255 points, or 0.59%, as of 8:30 p.m. ET. Futures tied to the S&P 500 sank 0.74%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures lost 0.96%.

Tariff developments have weighed on the market, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 losing 2.49% and 2.85% last week.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump was asked if he expected a recession this year, to which he replied, "I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America."

This week, investors will focus on key inflation data, with February's consumer price index scheduled for Wednesday followed by the producer price index on Thursday.

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Analyst Notes: Arthur Hayes, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and Chief Investment Officer at Maelstrom Fund, noted the "ugly" start to the week.

“Looks like BTC will retest $78,000. If it fails, $75,000 is next in the crosshairs," Hayes predicted. "There are a lot of options OI [Open Interest] struck $70-$75,000, if we get into that range, it will be violent.”

Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader Daan Crypto Trades highlighted the formation of a new CME gap, suggesting a "choppy" and volatile trading environment.

"There’s now a new gap open up to ~$86,000. There’s also still the gap from way before open around ~$77,000, which didn’t close entirely last time around. So keep an eye out for those levels this week, " the analyst remarked.

CME gaps are the differences in price between the closing price on a given trading day and the opening price on the following trading day on a Bitcoin futures chart. 

Photo by SvetlanaParnikova on Shutterstock

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