Crypto Market Plummets as $230 Billion Disappears in 24 Hours
Investor morale declines sharply as major cryptocurrencies suffer significant losses, prompting fears across the market.
Investor sentiment has taken a downturn as the crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index has dropped to 28, signalling a shift to “fear” akin to trends last observed in April. This dramatic shift has resulted in the market losing more than $230 billion in value within just one day.
On Friday, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, monitored by CoinMarketCap, which assesses volatility and market trends, reached a low indicating fear, approaching levels classified as “extreme fear.”
According to data from CoinMarketCap, the overall crypto market cap fell to approximately $3.54 trillion, marking a 6% decline from the previous day’s total of $3.78 trillion. This represents one of the steepest daily drops in recent months; it reflects widespread investor anxiety.
Moreover, the Fear & Greed Index for traditional markets also plummeted to 22, indicative of extreme fear, as traditional stock markets experienced declines amidst turmoil in the credit sector and rising tensions from US-China trade relations.
Crypto Fear & Greed Index chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Major Cryptocurrencies See Significant Losses
Data indicates that leading cryptocurrencies have continued their downward spiral over the last 24 hours, significantly exacerbated by the broader market correction.
Bitcoin (BTC) has decreased by nearly 6%, settling around $105,000, while Ether (ETH) experienced an 8% decline to approximately $3,700. Among the larger altcoins, Binance Coin (BNB) recorded the largest loss at almost 12%, followed closely by Chainlink (LINK) with an 11% decrease and Cardano (ADA), down by 9%.
Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) also fell over 7%, extending a downward trend that flushed away earlier month’s gains.
Overall, the biggest non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies noted an average decrease of 8-9% in the last 24-hour timeframe.
Crypto market cap and volume. Source: CoinMarketCap
The recent market crash led to massive liquidations last week, accounting for nearly $20 billion. However, this week’s downtrend saw considerably lower activity. On Friday, approximately $556 million worth of leveraged positions were liquidated across exchanges, a stark reduction from previous figures.
Approximately $451 million stemmed from long positions, while short liquidations accounted for around $105 million.
Total liquidation amounts per exchange. Source: CoinGlass
Related: Gold market cap soars to $30 trillion, dwarfing Bitcoin and tech giants
Other Assets React to Market Declines
In addition to leading cryptocurrencies, other asset classes such as memecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have also witnessed declines due to the recent market downturn.
Memecoins that showed signs of recovery earlier in the week fell by 33% within 24 hours, as reported by CoinMarketCap. The top memecoins saw declines ranging from 9% to 11%, despite trading volume maintaining near $10 billion.
The NFT sector, which had previously rebounded from a significant loss last week, fell again, dropping below a $5 billion valuation, which is a figure not seen since July. Majority of the leading NFT collections noted double-digit drops in the past 24 hours.
In response to the crash, the market for spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs also reacted. On Thursday, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows exceeding $536 million, while spot Ether ETFs had net outflows exceeding $56 million.
