Surged Cryptocurrency Plunges on Profit-Taking Sell-Off

Glassnode "BTC Spot Buying Recorded $45 Million on May. 18"
BTC Down $102,000 After Touching $106,000 on Morning
Altcoin Hits Average 5% Decline During May. 19 As BTC Drops

Bitcoin(BTC) began adjusting in the afternoon after surpassing $106,000 on strong spot buying on May. 19.

Glassnode, an on-chain analysis platform, claimed on the 18th that the daily Bitcoin purchase in Coinbase reached $45 million, and that the spot market demand for Bitcoin is far above the demand for derivatives.

"The current bitcoin is a structure in which buying is accumulated at more than $93,000 and the price of bitcoin rises in a step-by-step manner," the Glassnode report explained.

Bitcoin's rise comes at a time when the U.S. credit rating has been downgraded to a notch, drawing attention. On the 16th (local time), global credit rating agency Moody's downgraded the U.S. credit rating by one notch in 108 years from "Aaa" to "Aa1."

As bitcoin has risen despite the U.S. credit rating downgrade, it is interpreted that the view of bitcoin as a safe asset such as gold is spreading in the asset market.

On the afternoon of the 19th, altcoins, including Bitcoin, began to fall in tandem with the sell-off of profit-taking. A number of altcoins, including Bitcoin's decline to $102,000, fell by more than 5%.

◇Bitcoin = Bitcoin price is $102,956 at 4:30 p.m. on May. 19, 2025. The Bitcoin share(dominance) was 63.96%.

The long(up) and short(down) betting ratios in the Bitcoin futures market stood at 47.20% and 52.90%, according to the on-chain analytics platform Sigbtc.

Even when the U.S. credit rating was downgraded, it was analyzed that Bitcoin would be more spotlighted as a safe asset as the price of Bitcoin rose.

"Even when the stock market was in an adjustment phase this year, Bitcoin did not fall significantly compared to Nasdaq, which means that the correlation coefficient with technology stocks is falling," said Kim Yoo-min, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities. "On the other hand, the correlation between Bitcoin and gold is gradually expanding and Bitcoin's aspect as a safe asset is emerging."

"The U.S. and China temporarily eased tariff shocks through negotiations, but they remain high, so stock market volatility will continue in the long run," he said. "If you invest in safe assets, you need to consider Bitcoin instead of gold that has entered the overheating zone."

◇Upside Coin = The cryptocurrency that recorded the largest increase from the previous trading day at 4:30 p.m. on May. 19was PUNDI X(PUNDIX), up about 1% on the day alone.

PUNDI X is a project to operate a P2P payment system that distributes XPOS, a digital asset payment and transaction force, to various retailers so that users can purchase and sell products through digital assets. PUNDIX is being used for XPOS payment and incentives.

◇Fear Greed Index = Digital asset fear-greed index provided by Alternative has entered the 'greed' phase with 74 points. The Greed phase is a phase where price volatility and trading volume increase, and the price increases. The government should be cautious about selling products as it is highly likely to form a short-term high.

The cryptocurrency relative strength index(RSI) provided by Sigbtc was 44.8, which was 'neutral'. The RSI sets the relative strength between the upward and downward pressures of a particular asset price and is an indicator of the over-buying and over-selling measures of a particular asset.

권승원 기자 ksw@blockstreet.co.kr