The Currency analytics
By Pankaj K
Crypto markets got crushed. The total market cap dropped roughly $2 trillion since October's peak of $4.
The Fear & Greed Index crashed to levels not seen since 2022, when everything went sideways and traders basically ran for the hills.
That's a nasty fall from $68,000 in October. Ethereum didn't escape either - it's trading near $1,800, way down from its $5,000 peak just months ago. These aren't small dips.
The Federal Reserve's rate hikes hit crypto hard, since digital assets count as risky investments when borrowing costs rise. And regulatory pressure keeps building in the U.S.
Some analysts still think long-term prospects look good. They're telling people to buy the dip, saying current prices offer great entry points for patient investors.
Geopolitical tensions aren't helping either.
When wars break out and economies get shaky, investors usually run to gold or Treasury bonds - not Bitcoin.
Major exchanges report trading volumes dropped off a cliff. Binance and Coinbase, the big players everyone knows, saw user activity slow down significantly.
Some smaller altcoins actually held up better than expected. While Bitcoin and Ethereum got hammered, certain niche coins managed to stay flat or even gain value.
Bitcoin mining's environmental impact came back into focus too. Critics love pointing out how much energy gets wasted when prices tank like this.
The SEC still hasn't decided on Bitcoin ETF proposals. Those decisions were supposed to come months ago, but regulators keep dragging their feet.
Nobody knows what's coming next. And that uncertainty keeps everyone nervous, checking prices every five minutes like it'll somehow make things better.
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Russia announced plans for digital ruble testing by mid-2026. Central banks worldwide are working on their own digital currencies, which could compete directly with crypto.