BTC/USD: Bitcoin Stabilizes Near $113,000 After Crypto Rout Wipes Out $400 Billion from Market
Sentiment has shifted, at least in the short run, and what was up high is now floating somewhere lower. What’s happening? 🔊 Crypto Rally Hits the BrakesBitcoin is down 10% from its earlier this month, consolidating near $113,000 as traders reassess positioning after a blistering run-up. After weeks of euphoria and record highs, the crypto party has hit a wall, a sellwall. Bitcoin is stabilizing on Wednesday after a sharp weeklong broad correction has erased nearly $400 billion from the market’s total valuation. Traders are calling it “profit-taking.” Others are calling it “fear.” Depends how you look at it. One thing’s certain — the vibe across the space has shifted and a few reasons might pop up to explain it. 🤔 Profit-Taking or Something Bigger?The “buy-everything rally” that pushed risk assets higher mid-August is showing signs of fatigue, as stretched valuations across crypto and equities collide with macroeconomic uncertainty. The entire crypto market cap has fallen from an all-time high of $4.2 trillion to around $3.8 trillion, with much of the pain concentrated in the top-tier tokens. Ethereum isn’t immune either, sliding 12% from its recent as enthusiasm cools and liquidity winds down across decentralized finance and corporate treasury-driven buying. Profit-taking might be the dominant theme, especially among leveraged traders and institutional whales. After all, these and need a good rinse and repeat every now and then. But one event might be more responsible for the pullback — Jackson Hole. 🏛️ All Eyes on Powell and Jackson HoleFriday’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is the potential volatility trigger, with Fed Chair Jay Powell set to deliver what may be his final speech at the premium event before his term ends in May 2026. Traders are bracing for Powell’s comments on the future path of interest rates, with Fed funds futures pricing an 83% probability of a cut in September — a key bullish catalyst for risk assets if confirmed. Any hint of a more hawkish tone, however, could deepen the ongoing crypto correction, especially with traders already nervous after this week’s liquidation wave.