Crypto Market Digest: Investors Reel from $5.4B Loss Amidst Turbulence

As the new week commences, bitcoin is striving to establish a stable position above its downtrend line, with $86,000 posing as a significant resistance level. Notably, FLR, TRX, and SOL outperformed the broader market, while Mantra's OM token experienced a drastic 90% decline to $0.70 during Asian trading hours. Mantra attributed the crash to forced liquidations on cryptocurrency exchanges, whereas blockchain analyst Spot On Chain highlighted a substantial movement of coins to the OKX exchange prior to the collapse. OKX's CEO, Star Xu, deemed the OM token's downfall a major scandal for the crypto industry, emphasizing the public availability of all on-chain data for scrutiny across major exchanges. Furthermore, data from IntoTheBlock indicated a resurgence in transaction volumes on Virtuals Protocol, a blockchain project facilitating the creation and deployment of AI agents. Arkham Intelligence reported that Mechanism's Capital Andrew Kang has doubled his long position on BTC, now valued at $200 million. NYDIG discussed the relative stability of the crypto market, suggesting it could become a self-reinforcing virtuous cycle. However, investors anticipate a range-bound trading pattern for bitcoin due to concerns over the U.S.-China trade tensions. QCP Capital noted that BTC may continue to consolidate within the $80,000-$90,000 range, adopting a 'wait and see' approach. Bloomberg's Lisa Abramowicz cited Deutsche Bank's Credit Analyst Steve Caprio, who expressed skepticism about the market's ability to rally amidst tariff uncertainty and growth weakness. The demand for spot bitcoin ETFs has dwindled, with outflows exceeding $700 million last week, according to Farside Investors. CryptoQuant warned that a sharp drop in bitcoin spot ETF assets signals institutional outflows. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are approaching the 'death cross,' a bearish technical pattern, and the dollar index appears oversold. Key events to watch include Monday's stock market reaction to Trump's tariff exclusions, Wednesday's U.S. retail sales, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech.