Crypto Assets Experience Sudden Decline Amid Market Turmoil
The cryptocurrency market faced a sharp sell-off overnight, triggered by a significant drop in technology stocks, particularly those led by Nvidia, following the announcement of DeepSeek’s more efficient artificial intelligence model. Bitcoin (BTC), which had reached a weekend high of $105,000, saw a steep decline, falling below $98,000 at one point before recovering slightly to hover just under $100,000. Analysts are now cautioning that this could signal the beginning of an even more pronounced pullback in the market.
Among the voices advocating for buying during this downturn is Geoffrey Kendrick, the global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank. In a report released on Monday morning, Kendrick urged investors to “buy the dip.” Just a week prior, he had highlighted the potential for a 10%-20% correction, attributing it to the markets overestimating expectations surrounding former President Trump’s crypto executive order and strategic reserve strategies. Kendrick believes that the recent sell-off has already mitigated much of this anticipated correction.
Although there may still be some turbulence in the week ahead—especially with major U.S. tech companies set to report their earnings and the Federal Reserve’s January meeting results coming out on Wednesday—Kendrick noted a significant decline in U.S. Treasury yields, with the 10-year note yield nearing 4.5%. He interprets this as an indication that much of the downward pressure on prices may have already been absorbed.
Despite the lack of immediate price increases from the Trump administration’s actions regarding digital assets, Kendrick is optimistic that these moves will foster positive changes in the sector over the coming weeks and months, particularly by attracting institutional investment.
Echoing Kendrick’s sentiment, analysts from LondonCryptoClub viewed the crypto market’s reaction as an impulsive response to headline news. They referred to the situation as a classic case of “FUD”—fear, uncertainty, and doubt—stating, “The Deepseek FUD is a classic shoot first, ask questions later.” They believe that sell-offs like this, occurring within a fundamentally supportive macroeconomic context, often represent local lows in a broader bull market trend.
“Exercise caution today, as a broad derisking can be very mechanical and indiscriminate,” they advised. “However, this environment remains fundamentally a ‘BTFD’ (buy the f*ing dip) market.” As of the latest updates, Bitcoin was trading down more than 4% over the past 24 hours, priced at $99,800. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index fell by 3%, with Nvidia (NVDA) leading the decline with a staggering 15% drop.
