Crypto Falls on Labor Day as U.S. Markets and ETFs Close

Crypto markets fell on Labor Day as U.S. exchanges and spot Bitcoin ETFs were closed. The total crypto market capitalization slipped to $2.68 trillion and Bitcoin traded near $79,662 after touching about $82,000 last week. Friday’s U.S. close remained the last official U.S. price until markets reopen on Tuesday.

Trading volumes thinned while the NYSE, Nasdaq, the bond market and CME futures were offline for the holiday. Spot Bitcoin ETFs had been active during last week’s run to roughly $82,000 but could not buy coins for a third straight day. Market participants selling on Monday transacted against other crypto traders rather than institutional bids.

Monetary policy expectations also influenced trading. The CME FedWatch tool showed roughly a 58% probability of a quarter-point rate increase at the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 16 meeting and no cut priced into markets. The market’s expectation for a second rate hike moved later into next year and was priced around March rather than December.

Market technicians identified key capitalization levels to watch. The $2.73 trillion level acted as resistance on Sept. 3. A close above $2.77 trillion would open a path toward $2.90 trillion, while a sustained move below $2.68 trillion would indicate the early-September breakout reversed.

Arbitrum’s token ARB gave back gains, falling about 7.29% to $0.1755. ARB had risen roughly 105% over the prior week and about 123% for the month, supported in part by record volume on Robinhood Chain, a network connected to Arbitrum that routes revenue to the project. Selling volume on Monday remained lighter than the Sept. 4 dip. Short-term technical support was near $0.1739. A daily close above $0.1919 would indicate a potential upward break, with $0.2029 and $0.2067 cited as higher confirmation levels and $0.25 noted as an extended target if those levels were taken on heavy volume.

“A holiday session proves nothing. Tuesday does, when New York comes back and finds out whether the institutional people who paid $82,000 last week still want it at these prices,” an analyst wrote.

The next scheduled market events are the reopening of U.S. trading on Tuesday and the Federal Reserve meeting on Sept. 16, both of which will coincide with renewed institutional participation and further price discovery.