Crypto market in freefall as Bitcoin, Ethereum lead steep declines from peak, altcoins crash deeper

The global crypto market continues to face a major washout, with some of the world’s biggest digital assets in a steep freefall from their all-time highs. Bellwether Bitcoin saw nearly $2 billion worth of leveraged positions liquidated, dragging the token to a multi-month low on Thursday. The original cryptocurrency had touched a record high just last month, but has since slumped 34.5% from its peak of $1,26,080 to $82,468 today.

Other major cryptocurrencies are facing similar corrections, with Ethereum falling 45% to $2,709.75 since hitting its all-time high of $4,946.05 in August 2025, as per the CoinGecko data. The crash has dragged down the overall m-cap of the crypto market to below $3 trillion for the first time since summer 2025. The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $2.97 trillion, a -7.53% change in the last 24 hours and -13.02% change one year ago. Bitcoin's m-cap is at $1.68 trillion, which has also seen a -7.6% correction in just 24 hours, and a 15.1% correction in one year.

Similarly, ETH is down 8% in 24 hours, XRP is down 8.4%; Solana is down 8.5%; and DOGE and Cardano 12.4% and 20.5%, respectively. Experts say Bitcoin’s slide below $83,000 and Ethereum’s drop toward $2,700 underscore how quickly risk sentiment has deteriorated across the digital asset market. Both assets are being pulled lower as volatility in the tech sector intensifies, with concerns over the cost and sustainability of AI expansion weighing heavily on investor appetite. 

“The sharp pullback in major tech stocks has spilt directly into crypto, pushing Bitcoin’s correlation with the NASDAQ sharply higher. At the same time, rising corporate debt tied to data-centre growth and a stronger U.S. labour report have reduced expectations for near-term Federal Reserve easing, prompting traders to reassess exposure across equities and digital assets,” says Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange.

Altcoins have also seen a similar fall from their all-time highs, with key digital coins like Solana, Cardano and XRP all drowning in the current cycle of market crash. Solana has fallen 57% from its all-time high of $293.31 hit in January 2025; Cardano has seen a whopping 86% drop since its all-time high; and XRP has plunged 48%.

Meme token Dogecoin, once promoted heavily by multi-billionaire Elon Musk, has erased over 80% of its value from its peak. Even top stablecoins, Tether and USDC, which saw huge investment and widespread popularity in the year 2025, are also trading in the red. CoinGlass data shows that in the past 24 hours, 409,227 traders were liquidated as the total liquidations came in at $2.21 billion.

The widespread downturn underscores renewed risk aversion among investors as macroeconomic uncertainty increases in the US. The September jobs data showed a higher-than-expected unemployment rate at 4.4%, influencing the rate cut decision. At the same time, the absence of October data has created an information gap, prompting traders to turn cautious.

Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex, says: “A Bitcoin Whale selling 11,000 BTC also impacted the sentiment, further contributing to the downward momentum. Buyers now need to defend the $84,500 support to prevent a deeper move toward $80,000, while $91,000 remains the key resistance.”

Based on the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which remains at 11, signalling "extreme fear”, analysts expect Bitcoin to move sideways in the coming days, with speculations of a further dip. “This might trigger further sell-off in addition to the volatility that’s being created by short sellers. However, the movement mirrors an overall pullback from investment in macro assets and reduced risk appetite,” says a commentary by WazirX trading desk.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs saw total outflows worth $903 million on Thursday alone, which has added to further chances of volatility. Largest BTC ETF, BlackRock's IBIT alone saw net outflow of $355.5 million, while Grayscale's GBTC and Fidelity's FBTC saw outflows worth $199.35 million and $190.4 million, respectively.