Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) held its head above the water Monday evening but most major altcoins remained subdued as the global cryptocurrency market cap decreased 1.6% to $1.7 trillion.

What Happened: The apex coin traded 1.4% higher over 24 hours at $36,450.99. Over a seven-day period, it has plunged 13.7%.

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, traded 2.7% lower over 24 hours at $2,422.50. For the week, it has dropped 24.5%.

Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) was down 0.8% over 24 hours at $0.14 over 24 hours. Over the last seven days, it has fallen 20.1%.

DOGE-rival Shiba Inu (SHIB) declined 5.5% to $0.00002 over 24 hours. It has lost 27.2% of its value over the week.

The three largest gainers over 24 hours were SAFEMOON (SAFEMOON), Maker (MKR), and Cosmos (ATOM).

SAFEMOON shot up a whopping 210% to $0.0000015, ATOM spiked 4.8% to $1,904.38, and ATOM was up 2.3% at $35.71 in the period.

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Why It Matters: On an intraday basis, BTC moved between $33,064.80 and $37,475.91 mark, while ETH touched a low of $2,180 and a high of $2,502.70 in the period.

Cryptocurrency markets remain volatile ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting slated for Jan. 25 and Jan. 26.

The rapidly changing Federal Reserve policy in response to rising inflation has caused extreme fear in both legacy and crypto markets, said Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at the United Kingdom-based digital asset broker GlobalBlock.

The Joe Biden administration is expected to release its strategy for digital assets going into February with the executive order presented to the president in the coming weeks, according to a prior report.

Meanwhile, political tensions are boiling over in Europe. NATO sent in reinforcements and the United States put its troops on the alert over Russian troop build-up on Ukraines borders, according to a Reuters report. Both Russia and the United States are major Bitcoin mining nations.

A bearish market is leading to a fall in open interest. Bitcoin and Ethereum futures open interest have contracted $6 billion and $3.1 billion respectively since November highs, according to Delphi Digital data.

Futures Open Interest Vs Funding Rate for Bitcoin, Ethereum Courtesy Delphi Digital

As prices soured, traders with highly leveraged long positions have been closed out multiple times over the past few weeks. Funding rates remain neutral, with longs and shorts staying even and traders undecided, the independent cryptocurrency research firm wrote, in an emailed note.

The weekly RSI [Relative Strengh Indicator] currently sits at 37, which is usually considered as indicating the price is oversold. The fact that every bear market bottom for Bitcoin has ranged between 29-35 on the weekly RSI suggests that the risk/reward is advantageous for buying in this area if you believe in the long-term value of this asset class, said GlobalBlocks Sotiriou.

Sven Henrich, a technical analyst and commentator, tweeted Monday that it was time to start nibbling on the apex coin.

Amsterdam-based trader Michal van de Poppe said on Twitter that Bitcoin was ready for a test at $38,000 and possibly $40,700 level.

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Bitcoin Manages A Greenish Hue As Ethereum, Dogecoin Keep Flashing Bright Red: Is The Crypto Bloodbath Ne - Benzinga