Popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple have formed different risky patterns ahead of the closely-watched triple-witching event. 

Bitcoin (BTC) price has slipped to $83,580 from the weekly high of $87,158, while Ethereum (ETH) has dropped below $2,000. Ripple (XRP) has fallen from this week’s high of $2.59 to $2.35.

A likely reason for this price action is that market participants are waiting for the quarterly triple-witching event on Wall Street. Triple witching is a day that happens on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December. On this day, stock options, stock index futures, and index options expire simultaneously.

The upcoming triple-witching event will see options and futures contracts worth over $4.5 trillion expire. Historically, stocks and cryptocurrency prices experience heightened volatility ahead of, during, and after the witching event.

For example, Bitcoin price opened at $97,777 on the last triple-witching event on Dec. 20. It then crashed to $92,200 and ended the day at $97,000.

This quarter’s triple witching event is happening as concerns about Donald Trump’s tariffs have remained. It also comes two days after the Federal Reserve delivered a muted interest rate decision. While officials warned of stagflation, Jerome Powell noted that inflation would be transitory. The Fed also hinted that it would soon scale down its quantitative tightening policies.

Bitcoin price has formed a rising wedge

There is a risk that the BTC price will drop ahead of or after the triple-witching event. It has formed a rising wedge pattern, comprising two ascending and converging trendlines. This pattern is on top of the double-top at $108,150 and the death cross that formed on March 14. These patterns point to further Bitcoin price downside, with the immediate target being at $76,890, its March low.

Ethereum price has formed a triple-top

Ether has formed a triple-top pattern at $4,005, with a neckline at $2,140. A triple-top often leads to a strong bearish breakout, and in this case, it has dropped below the neckline. It also moved below the 50-week and 200-week moving averages, pointing to further downside, potentially to the psychological point at $1,500.

XRP price has formed a head and shoulders pattern

Meanwhile, XRP price is at risk of a breakdown even after the SEC ended the Ripple case. The main reason for this is that the coin has formed a head and shoulders pattern whose neckline is at $1.93, with the shoulders at $3. It failed to invalidate this pattern this week by moving above the shoulders level. Therefore, a move below the neckline at $2 risks it dropping to $1.