Bitcoin, Ether Drop 5% Ahead of Potential Rate Cut

Bitcoin (BTC) started the week down 3% and is trading below $58,400, as the broader market as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index is down 5%.

BTC spent most of the weekend above $60,000 following data released by the U.S. U.S.-listed BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded net inflows of over $263 million, the most since July 22, while ether ETFs generated $1.5 million.

Many traders around the world are currently expecting the US central bank, the Fed, to cut interest rates for the first time in four years. The highly anticipated week is starting with a decline in crypto markets.

Polymarket bookmakers give a 51% chance of a 50bp cut and a 48% chance of a 25bp cut, while the chance of no change appears to be 2%.

The move to lower borrowing costs is driving the uptrend as cheap access to money fuels growth in riskier sectors.

Ether (ETH) is leading the losses among the majors, down 5.5% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data, its worst single-day drop since early August. Cardano’s ADA is down 5%, Solana’s SOL is down 4%, and BNB Chain’s BNB is the best-performing token with a loss of 1.1%.

Nervos’ CKB is seeing a 10.5% jump in the last 24 hours after Korean exchange Upbit listed the token.

Futures traders who bet on higher prices are losing over $143 million amid the sudden drop, according to CoinGlass data.

On the other hand, the BTC/ETH ratio, which tracks the relative movement of the two largest tokens in the market, is falling to four-year lows.