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Crypto Market Loses $460B as Ether, Altcoins Follow Bitcoin’s Deep Dive
The crypto market has lost more than $400 billion in a day.
By Muyao Shen
Updated Mar 6, 2023, 3:11 p.m. Published May 19, 2021, 2:30 p.m.
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Prices for ether , the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, traded in deep red along with other alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins), tumbling by more than bitcoin in the biggest sell-off in digital asset markets since the "Black Thursday" of March 2020.
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- At press time, ether was trading at around $2,469.50, down 26.36% in the past 24 hours, according to FTX and TradingView, marking the biggest daily loss for ether since March 12, 2020.
- There has also been a huge market dump in the decentralized finance sector, with DeFi-related tokens among the biggest losers, according to Messari. They included maker (MKR), yearn.finance (YFI), , uniswap , and chainlink .
- "They are all dumping today and all correlating," said Joel Kruger, currency strategist at LMAX Digital.
- Notably, the price for dogecoin (DOGE), the popular meme-centered cryptocurrency, also followed the broader market sell-off and was down by more than 20% in the past 24 hours to about $0.379, according to CoinDesk 20.
- "Without significant mainstream adoption, recognition and utility, alts are, and have always been, more speculative in nature than bitcoin," said Hunain Naseer, senior editor at OKEx Insights. "This means they rise faster during bull runs and drop sharper during declines."
- The correction across digital assets has caused a loss of more than $460 billion in the past 24 hours for the crypto's total market capitalization.
- According to TradingView, the total market capitalization for crypto assets now stands at around $1.565 trillion, down 21.96% in the past 24 hours.
- "The catalyst is a market that had been deeply at risk for a pullback following a parabolic run up and a market that is feeling a little more pressure from global macro forces that are weighing on risk correlated assets," Kruger said.
- "The biggest risk to crypto now, at least over the coming weeks, is risk that we see downside pressure in U.S. equities," he added.
- Also on Wednesday, U.S. stocks started falling, led by major losses on shares of tech stocks, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Gold tops $5,000 as bitcoin stalls near $87,000 in widening macro-crypto split: Asia Morning Briefing
Bitcoin’s onchain data points to supply overhang and weak participation, while gold’s breakout is priced by markets as a durable macro regime shift.
What to know:
- Gold’s surge above $5,000 an ounce is increasingly seen as a durable regime shift, with investors treating the metal as a persistent hedge against geopolitical risk, central bank demand and a weaker dollar.
- Bitcoin is stuck near $87,000 in a low-conviction market, as on-chain data show older holders selling into rallies, newer buyers absorbing losses and a heavy supply overhang capping moves toward $100,000.
- Derivatives and prediction markets point to continued consolidation in bitcoin and sustained strength in gold, with thin futures volumes, subdued leverage and weak demand for higher-beta crypto assets like ether reinforcing the cautious tone.
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