Cryptocurrency Faces Pressure Amid Macroeconomic Concerns

Cryptocurrencies experienced significant pressure during the early Asian trading session on January 26, leading to the liquidation of over $550 million in leveraged long positions, with Bitcoin briefly dipping to $86,000. According to PANews, safe-haven assets like gold and silver continued their upward trend. The heightened risk aversion is attributed to several macroeconomic concerns, including U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion of imposing a 100% tariff on Canadian imports, the rising risk of a partial U.S. government shutdown as current funding expires on January 30, and uncertainties surrounding potential U.S.-Japan currency market interventions to stabilize the yen. The New York Federal Reserve's "rate check" on the dollar/yen on Friday further heightened market caution regarding yen depreciation. In response to these macroeconomic uncertainties, the crypto derivatives market has adopted a defensive stance, with an increase in put skew and implied volatility, alongside significant capital flows shifting long-term put positions to lower strike prices. Looking ahead, with a dense macroeconomic event calendar, including tech stock earnings and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, implied volatility is expected to remain elevated. Although the Federal Reserve is anticipated to keep rates unchanged, the market will closely watch Chairman Powell's guidance on future policy directions. Until multiple risks, particularly the government shutdown risk, are clarified, cryptocurrency prices may exhibit volatility in the near term.