The combined valuation of all cryptocurrencies has fallen by around 3.65%, or $97 billion, in the past 24 hours to reach $2.58 trillion on April 16.
TOTAL crypto market cap four-hour performance chart. Source: TradingView
The top catalysts that are driving the crypto market lower today include:
An ongoing tech sector slump.
Reports about China potentially dumping $16 billion in Bitcoin.
Liquidations in the futures market.
Weakening technicals.
Export restrictions on Nvidia hurt stocks, crypto
Today, the crypto market’s declines mirrored similar downside sentiment in the broader risk market.
Wall Street sentiment turned sour after the Donald Trump administration imposed new restrictions on Nvidia’s chip exports to China, stoking fears of another intense tariff cycle.
On April 16, Nasdaq 100 futures dropped over 2.30%, while European markets sank, with chipmakers ASML Holding NV falling more than 7% on weaker demand expectations. The market turbulence spilled over into cryptocurrencies, a sector that has shown a consistent correlation with US stocks since May 2020.
TOTAL crypto market cap and Nasdaq 100’s 52-week correlation coefficient. Source: TradingView
Meanwhile, gold markets continued acting as a global safe haven in times of economic uncertainty led by Trump’s zigzag tariff policies. The precious metal rose to a new record high of over $3,317 an ounce on April 16.
Related: Bitcoin trader sees gold 'blow-off top' as XAU nears new $3.3K record
Gold has outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) in 2025 so far, rising by 26.50% year-to-date compared to BTC dropping by 11.50%.
XAU/USD vs. BTC/USD year-to-date performance chart. Source: TradingView
That further signals a dampening risk appetite among investors and traders alike, which is hurting Bitcoin and the broader crypto market.
China may dump $16 billion in Bitcoin holdings
The crypto market’s decline occurred amid reports that China may start offloading seized Bitcoin assets, a complete opposite of the US’s plans to employ such assets for national reserves.
Multiple Chinese municipalities are reportedly offloading around 15,000 BTC (worth $1.4 billion) through offshore exchanges to counter domestic economic slowdowns.
The report appears months after CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju claimed that the Chinese government likely sold nearly $20 billion worth of Bitcoin seized from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme in January.
However, recent data shows that the government has been holding 190,000 BTC—worth over $16 billion—since January 2024.
China’s Bitcoin holdings chart. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.net
Past selloffs by Germany and the US have shown that even modest state liquidations can spark panic and drive prices lower.
Crypto market suffers $245M in liquidations
The cryptocurrency market’s sell-off today coincides with a wave of liquidations in the futures market, totaling $245.37 million in the last 24 hours.
Notably, the futures market witnessed long liquidations worth $173.83 million of the total wipeout. In comparison, short traders saw comparatively lower liquidations at $71.55 million.
Crypto market’s liquidation heatmap (24 hours). Source: CoinGlass
Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) led the losses with $51.54 million and $49.81 million in liquidations, respectively. Mantra’s OM followed with $18.33 million, while Solana (SOL) and Worldcoin (WCT) saw $12.74 million and $11.58 million liquidated, respectively.
Crypto market technicals show weakness
From a technical standpoint, the crypto market’s ongoing decline is occurring after failing to break above a multimonth resistance at around the $2.6 trillion level.
The chart below shows the market retesting the upper boundary of a descending channel, a level that aligns with the 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA; the red wave) near $2.72 trillion.
TOTAL crypto market cap daily performance chart. Source: TradingView
Historically, every test of this trendline and moving average since January has resulted in a rejection and further decline. The market has also remained below the 200-day EMA, currently at $2.81 trillion, reinforcing the bearish bias.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering around 47, below the neutral 50 mark, suggesting weakening buying pressure.
If the pattern holds, the market risks dropping toward the lower boundary of the descending channel near $2.2 trillion. This level also served as a strong support zone in late 2023, adding to its significance.
Until the market breaks decisively above the 50-day EMA and the descending trendline, the setup favors continued downside toward $2.2 trillion.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.