The crypto market crash gained steam today, February 24, with Bitcoin falling below the crucial support level at $65,000 and nearing its lowest level this month.

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $63,000, while top altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and Solana (SOL) fell by over 4% in the last 24 hours. The market capitalization of all tokens tracked by CoinMarketCap dropped by 4.23% in the last 24 hours to over $2.18 trillion.

Crypto market crash accelerates as risk-off sentiment prevails

One major risk for the crypto market crash is that investors have largely embraced a risk-off sentiment this week. This view is supported by the view that the VIX Index jumped by over 15% on Monday as the US stock market dropped by over 1%. Gold price continued rising this week and is slowly nearing the all-time high.

Market participants have embraced a risk-off sentiment because of the potential war in Iran, which President Trump is considering. He has made the biggest military deployment in the region in decades and hinted that he will make a limited attack to force the Iranians to a deal.

A limited attack by the United States may lead to a prolonged war in the region. Such a war would lead to a surge in crude oil and natural gas prices, which would stimulate inflation in her region. Also, Bitcoin has proven that it is not a safe-haven asset.

The risk-off sentiment has also jumped because of the fear in the artificial intelligence industry. These fears have knocked many stocks, including companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Salesforce. In most cases, the crypto market tends to crash when stocks are not doing well.

The crypto market crash happened after the new Trump tariffs went into effect. Trump launched a 10% tariff on all goods coming to the US using Section 122. He is also eying more tariffs after launching several investigations. 

Crypto prices sink amid weak technicals and falling open interest

The other reason why the crypto market is crashing is that the futures open interest continued falling. Data compiled by CoinGlass shows that open interest has dropped to $90 billion. Falling open interest is a sign of weak demand.

This retreat has coincided with the ongoing ETF outflows. Data shows that spot BTC outflows jumped to over $203 million on Monday, bringing the cumulative total in the last four months to over $7 billion. Ethereum ETF outflows have also continued accelerating.

Technicals have also contributed to the ongoing crypto market crash. The daily chart shows that the BTC price dropped after forming a bearish pennant pattern. It also remains below all moving averages and the Supertrend indicator. Therefore, the coin may continue falling to $50,000, which may lead to more downside.