Major digital assets struggled Monday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, even as Solana ecosystem activity climbed.
Major digital assets struggled to gain traction on Monday, Sept. 15, including Solana, which made headlines with massive treasury activity. The ongoing volatility comes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.5% over the past 24 hours to $114,800, while Ethereum (ETH) fell 2% to $4,497. XRP edged down 0.2% to $3.03, and Solana (SOL), despite large treasury news, slid 5% to $232.
Solana’s slide contrasts with bullish developments in its ecosystem, including Helius (NASDAQ: HSDT) announcing today over $500 million in funding to launch a Solana-focused treasury vehicle.
Separately, it was revealed earlier today that Forward Industries deployed $1.58 billion into Solana following a $1.65 billion PIPE raise.
The broader total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped 1.3% over the past 24 hours to $4.08 trillion, with Bitcoin dominance at 56% and Ethereum at 13.3%, according to CoinGecko.
Liquidations and ETFs
Over the past 24 hours, around $440 million in crypto positions were liquidated, including $362 million of long positions and $77 million of shorts, per CoinGlass. Ethereum led with over $117 million in liquidations, followed by altcoin at $77 million, and BTC at $46 million.
Investors poured $642 million into spot Bitcoin ETFs on Friday, Sept. 12, marking the fifth straight day of inflows, according to SoSoValue.
Meanwhile, spot Ethereum ETFs attracted $405.5 million in inflows – the fourth consecutive day of positive flows.
Overall, digital asset products recorded $3.3 billion in inflows, lifting assets under management (AUM) to $239 billion, near August’s record high, CoinShares revealed in its weekly Fund Flows report.
Bitcoin accounted for $2.4 billion of the inflows, Ethereum posted $646 million, and Solana recorded a new daily high of $145 million.
Fed Meeting
Monday’s market volatility comes as investors await the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later this week on Wednesday.
“All eyes are on this Wednesday’s FOMC,” said Emir Ibrahim, analyst at digital asset trading platform Zerocap, in comments shared with The Defiant. “Currently, futures markets are assigning a 96% probability to a 25bp cut, with a slim 3-4% of a 50bp surprise.”
Ibrahim noted that while a 25bp cut is the most likely outcome, “any rhetoric of labor market weakness, a change in interest rate projections, or even a ‘jumbo’ 50bp cut, could deliver a significant response across risk assets.”
He added that despite the historic correlation between BTC and gold “not always being apparent,” monetary policy stimulus caused by labor market fragility could result in both assets “well aligned in a post-announcement move.”
