The crypto market’s bullish momentum has sharply cooled, as total capitalization declined for the first time in a month. A broad-based correction in altcoins not only dragged the market cap lower, but also triggered a wave of liquidations among retail traders—especially those leveraging long positions. This week’s data sheds light on the underlying drivers of the pullback and what it may mean for market positioning ahead.
Positioning Shifts and Massive Liquidations
According to TradingView, total crypto market capitalization contracted by 5% this week—from nearly $4T to $3.78T. Altcoins, however, suffered even more pronounced declines: the TOTAL2 index fell by almost 10%, erasing nearly $170B in value. This sharp move resulted in heavy losses for leveraged retail traders. Coinglass reported that liquidations approached $1B in the past 24 hours, with over 314,000 traders’ positions forcibly closed.
Altcoin liquidations hit $1B. Source: Coinglass “In the past 24 hours, 314,002 traders were liquidated, with total liquidations amounting to $966.04M,” according to Coinglass. CryptoBubbles data confirms that nearly all major altcoins are trading lower, with losses ranging from 6% to 20%. Notably, 84% of liquidations—worth more than $840M—were on long positions. For many, this marks the first real profit-taking phase after four weeks of consistent market gains.
Broad-based declines across altcoins. Source: CryptoBubbles Who Is Taking Profits?
According to a fresh report from 10x Research, the bulk of the recent Bitcoin rally has played out during Asian trading hours—BTC is up 16% overall, but 25% during the Asian session, signaling that Europe and the US have seen net selling, likely driven by profit-taking.
The same dynamic is seen with Ethereum: over the past month, ETH is up 63%, with a staggering 96% of the gain occurring during Asia’s trading window. Conversely, prices fell 26% in Europe and 7% in the US. This suggests that while Asian traders chased bullish news—often emerging from US and European markets—they have now joined in on the latest profit-taking wave.
ETH: performance during Asia hours. Source: 10x Research As noted in the report, “Perhaps it’s due to news emerging after US markets close, but more likely it reflects the sheer enthusiasm and activity among Asian investors.” Analysts view this as a natural phase after extended upside, rather than a major trend change.
Market Reaction and Sentiment
According to KALEO, LedgArt founder and prominent investor, “No worries about today’s drop in alts. This is rational selling after recent gains. The most important thing is BTC held steady. Alts will likely rebound—even more strongly than last time. Patience pays off. Stay bullish.” Binance founder CZ echoed this sentiment, dismissing the move as “just another dip.”
Despite nearly $1B in liquidations, there is little sign of panic. The crypto Fear & Greed Index still points to a “greed” zone, signaling optimism remains elevated. For now, the market seems to be viewing this episode as an overdue reset—potentially setting up the next leg higher once the profit-taking subsides.