As BTC gets rejected from $30,000 and ETH slides below $2,000, the broader crypto market is deep in the red zone. As of now, half of the top 30 cryptocurrencies are 80% (or more) down from ATHs.
Altcoins in Bloodbath
After major cryptocurrencies hit ATHs last November, with Bitcoin touching the $69,000 level at one point, a months-long bear market has brought 15 of the top 30 cryptocurrencies 80% down from their record highs. As the selloff extends in time with no signs of immediate reversal, more projects may join this adverse “club” in the near future.
Among the 30 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap – excluding Terra from such a consideration – UNI, VET, and DOGE are the biggest losers, all down more than 90%. SHIB and LINK – have currently lost 89% of their value – follow closely.
In a time of investors flooding into risk-off assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum are seen as the blue-chips cryptocurrencies. They have dropped 61% and 64%, respectively, outperforming other major digital assets.
One of the notable observations is that native tokens by centralized exchanges, including Binance’s BNB, FTX’s FTT, and Kucoin’s KCS, have slightly outperformed other altcoins. BNB and FTT are being traded 67% and 69% below ATH, and KCS, though only ranked as the 40th largest project, is down less than 50% from ATH.
Extreme Fear Reigns
As reported previously by CryptoPotato, since approaching the $50,000 level at the end of March, when the community expected a run that would reverse the bearish sentiment, BTC has registered eight consecutive weekly candles in red.
According to the BTC Fear and Greed Index, the overall market sentiment has continually remained well within the “extreme fear” territory, with the metrics sitting today at 12. The index’s highest point recorded this year was around 50 during the aforementioned run-up in late March.
Bitcoin’s market dominance currently sits at 44.4%, as investors tend to hold the primary cryptocurrency over other risky crypto assets. Meanwhile, BTC’s months-long weakness usually indicates that altcoins’ bloodbath may deepen before a noticeable market reversal occurs.