Cryptocurrency market sentiment has once again fallen to “extreme fear” as Bitcoin briefly dipped below $56,000, while BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes expects it to drop another 12% to below $50,000 over the weekend.

The cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index — which measures market sentiment and trends to give a possible total score of 100 — registered a score of 22 on September 6, indicating “extreme fear,” a seven-point drop from the previous day when sentiment was pegged at “fear.”

This is the lowest level and lowest price since the index reached 20 points on August 8, and the first time it has returned to the “extreme fear” zone since August 12, when the index reached 25 points.

Cryptocurrency market sentiment has been swinging between fear and greed since June. Source: alternative.me

Bitcoin (BTC) fell 2.7% in the past 24 hours to a low of $55,838 after falling from over $58,000, wiping $29.7 billion off its market cap, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

It has since recovered slightly from its lows to trade at $56,533.

“Bitcoin is heavy. I’m targeting a sell below $50k this week. I’ve taken a bold short position,” Hayes, the former head of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, said in a post on X on Sept. 6.

Source: Arthur Hayes

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is struggling to gain momentum amid fears of a slowing US economy.

Bitcoin has fallen over the past day to trade just above $56,000. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro

U.S. jobs data released on Sept. 5 came in below economists' expectations, raising further concerns about an expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Bitcoin's 24-hour price decline has led to other major cryptocurrencies falling on the day, with Ethereum (ETH) down 2.23%, Solana (SOL) down 2.82%, and XRP (XRP) down 2.19%.

CoinGlass data showed that the overall price declines led to $94.26 million in liquidations in the last day, led by those who bet on Bitcoin’s price rising.

Long Bitcoin and Ethereum bets accounted for more than half of liquidations in the past day. Source: CoinGlass

Just over $71 million in long bets were liquidated, including $36.71 million in long Bitcoin bets — representing nearly 40% of liquidations on the day — followed by $17.36 million in liquidated long Ethereum bets.

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