Brief
- Major altcoins extended their losses on Wednesday, with analysts attributing the sell-off to low liquidity due to capital rotation into gold and cascading whale liquidations.
- Sustained Bitcoin ETF outflows and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve are exacerbating liquidity pressures.
- Experts believe that Bitcoin’s short-term volatility is limited, but a potential rebound in late 2026 depends on the return of institutional capital.
Altcoins continued to extend its losses on Wednesday as the February sell-off intensified, with Solana, XRP, BNBand other major tokens losing between 4% and 6% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
Zcash is the biggest loser among the top 30 altcoins, down 6.5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. BNB, Sui, Hyperliquid and XRP followed, with losses of 6.1%, 5.8%, 4.3% and 4.2% respectively.
The downtrend that began after Bitcoin’s October peak accelerated in early February, triggering multiple liquidation events. Even as Bitcoin attempts to stabilize around the psychological $60,000 level, altcoins appear weak, reflecting fearful investor sentiment.
“The reason for this downward trend stems from continued low market liquidity (and) moderate retail enthusiasm for speculative altcoin plays,” said Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget. Decrypt.
Users of the Myriad prediction market, owned by DecryptDastan’s parent company remains bearish on altcoins, estimating the probability of an “alt season” in the first quarter at less than 10%, the lowest level since the market’s launch.
Lee attributed the crypto market’s low liquidity to a rotation of capital into traditional safe-haven assets like gold, driven by a risk-averse macro environment.
He pointed out that “large stop-loss triggers and subsequent cascading liquidations amplified the sell-off, draining overall flows and increasing downward pressure on Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and beyond.”
Although Eva Sever, chief marketing officer at SwapSpace, largely agreed with Lee’s view, she pointed out other headwinds. “Liquidity concerns are also the result of hawkish signals from the Fed and sustained outflows from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds amid investor risk aversion, which have impacted recent Bitcoin price action,” Sever said. Decrypt.
Looking to the future
Both analysts agreed that the next step would see large-scale consolidation in crypto markets, with next week’s inflation reports and consumer confidence figures expected to be a watershed moment.
Despite near-term market conditions, Lee expects a rebound in the second half of 2026, provided fundamentals remain intact, fueled by the re-emergence of institutional capital and interest.
Sever, on the other hand, cited ETF inflows and Fed easing as two key catalysts that could move crypto markets. Without it, “markets will likely remain volatile, with Bitcoin hovering between $65,000 and $75,000,” the SwapSpace analyst said.
“Altcoins will likely be more volatile and experience declines of 5-15% during this phase,” she added.
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