Analysts had warned of this, and now it has happened. The altcoin market recorded double-digit losses at the start of the day and is heading south. While some coins and tokens are already showing an initial countermovement, it remains to be seen how volatile things might get today.
As the old trading adage goes, when others are afraid, it is probably the best time to buy if you believe in your positions for the long term. Others point to the recent ongoing decline in the altcoin sector, which has lost the majority of its gains since December last year.
A look at the biggest losers – and the steadiest coins and tokens of today’s crash.
Bears go full throttle
Welcome to the ZKsync crypto market! The probably most eagerly awaited airdrop of all time couldn’t have come at a worse time. The token of the Ethereum Layer 2 chain was launched yesterday. Today ZK is down 30 percent. This is probably due in part to today’s crash, but also to normal sales after the token launch. ZK is joined by a number of other losers.
Strongnet (STRK)
The L2 sector of Ethereum is apparently hit particularly hard. In this case, Starknet (STRK) is down almost 14 percent today. On a weekly basis, it is even down 30 percent. For Starknet, this represents a new low since the token launch a few months ago. In particular, the high valuation at the start is likely to have forced many investors to continue selling, which now appears to be reaching its (temporary) peak.
Celestia (TIA)
The bull market began with the launch of Celestia. Will it also end with the fall of the TIA token? In any case, Celestia is more than 50 percent away from its all-time high of $20 – a price drop worthy of a bear market. In the past 24 hours, TIA has lost a whopping 15 percent, and on a weekly basis it is 25 percent. At the time of writing, TIA is at $6.61. The token last had this value in December 2023.
Injective (INJ)
Injective has also lost most of its gains since December and is more than 50 percent away from its all-time high. In the past 24 hours, INJ has lost 11 percent, and on a weekly basis it is down almost 29 percent. The price is currently holding at the psychologically important mark of 20 US dollars, but has already slipped below this mark once during the crash.
Memecoin party over?
There is also a hangover mood after crypto’s biggest party of the last few weeks. Memecoin sector on Solana is apparently being punished particularly harshly. WIF, BONK and Co. are down between ten and 15 percent. The price losses of the last 24 hours for BODEN, TREMP and other political memecoins are more significant. Beercoin (BEER) also seems to have looked too deeply into the bottle. BEER is down 45 percent on a daily basis and a proud 82 percent on a weekly basis. Second place goes to Iggy Azalea’s celebrity memecoin, MOTHER, with a loss of 42 percent.
Rays of hope underground
As is often the case during major sell-offs, Bitcoin and Ethereum are largely holding firm. While BTC has (so far) seen little change on a daily basis – the price is unchanged at just under 66,000 US dollars at the time of writing – ETH has “only” lost around three percent. Two other tokens from the ETH ecosystem are also in the mix.
Ondo (ONDO)
The RWA sector is considered a major beneficiary of the upcoming Ethereum ETF in the US. At the forefront is Ondo Finance, which has lost just one percent on a daily basis. On a weekly basis, it is just over eight percent, which still makes the coin one of the stronger cryptos. At the time of writing, Ondo is at $1.10.
Pendle Finance (PENDLE)
With Pendle Finance, a DeFi heavyweight on Ethereum is holding firm. The PENDLE price is down almost 5 percent on a daily basis, but is still up 2.1 percent on a weekly basis. At 5.19, PENDLE is even at the same point as it was immediately before today’s crash.
BNB (BNB)
The token of the crypto exchange Binance is also holding up well. In the last 24 hours, BNB has lost 1.7 percent, meaning it is only 3.2 percent down on the week. The token can apparently maintain the strength of its most recent all-time high. The Binance founder himself may also be behind this. Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, allegedly owns 64 percent of the total BNB supply.
Ripple (XRP)
The only daily winner: Ripple’s XRP, which recorded a slight increase of 0.9 percent over a 24-hour period. On a weekly basis, Ripple is even up three percent. The project is currently in a legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but continues to record small gains. A settlement between the two may be imminent.
“Buy the Dip”?
Despite the advance warning of many analysts, the altcoin crash comes as something of a surprise. The traditional markets have been reaching new heights in recent days, which has given many investors hope that the crypto sector could follow suit. Bitcoin’s continued dominance and the rather negatively received last meeting of the Federal Reserve are considered the reason for the recent altcoin weakness.
The timing and speed of the crash indicate a short-term panic on the markets. Here there is News from South Korea, according to which the domestic crypto exchanges there want to examine up to 600 tokens. The background is a new law for digital assets, which could lead to the crypto sector being more strictly controlled and regulated there. South Korean traders are considered enthusiastic traders of altcoins and are always causing volatility in the markets.
Crypto history shows that moments of panic in particular represent a good buying opportunity – especially for coins that are showing steadfastness. However, if systemic greens are behind it, dip buyers risk catching falling knives instead. And should perhaps first get a more in-depth overview of the market situation.
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