$131 Billion Crash Shakes Crypto Market, Altcoins Plunge Up to 80%
The crypto market has been hit by another massive storm. Over the past week, global crypto market capitalization has plunged by more than US$380 billion (around Rp6,000 trillion), with US$131 billion of that coming from the altcoin sector — non-Bitcoin digital assets known for speculation and extreme volatility.
Bitcoin dropped 13% following escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. However, the biggest losses were seen in altcoins — with several tokens crashing as much as 80% before briefly recovering. Tokens like Trump memecoin and World Liberty Financial (WLFI), linked to the Trump family, each fell by more than 35% in a single day, according to CoinMarketCap data.
A Bloomberg report described this as one of the biggest crashes in altcoin history, marking the end of the euphoric era of crypto projects that rose thousands of percent without solid fundamentals. “If you’re a true on-chain trader, you just witnessed armageddon,” wrote an analyst from Arca.
Altcoins include a wide range of digital assets beyond Bitcoin and Ether, such as meme coins like Shiba Inu, Pepe, and even Moo Deng — a coin inspired by a famous pig from Thailand. These types of coins were the hardest hit in the recent collapse due to their shallow markets and heavy dependence on a few major buyers.
As selling pressure mounted, thin liquidity caused prices to plummet drastically. Without strong fundamentals or real utility, altcoin prices quickly went into free fall.
Before the crash, altcoins had dominated nearly 41.5% of total crypto market capitalization, reducing Bitcoin’s dominance from 65% in July to 58.5% now. However, analysts warn that this trend might soon reverse — similar to what happened in 2022 when investors returned to major assets like Bitcoin after a speculative cycle ended.
Morten Christensen, founder of AirdropAlert.com, said the risk-to-reward ratio in altcoins is no longer attractive. “The problem with altcoins is, yes, they can skyrocket, but they can also drop 50% in a day or 90% in a week. I won’t play that game again at the end of a cycle like this,” he said.
John Todaro of Needham & Co. added that most altcoins actually pose greater risks with lower returns. “Many of these assets have underperformed compared to major cryptos, stocks, and even gold,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute, firmly concluded:
“The altcoin market will shrink.”
With hundreds of billions of dollars wiped out in just days, many are now asking — is the “altcoin casino” finally closing for good?
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