It’s been a brutal day for altcoin. Wednesday brought a sharp correction across the board, and it feels like the so-called "altcoin season" might already be hitting the brakes — or maybe never really kicked off.
Over $200 million in long positions got liquidated, with some of the biggest hits seen in:
TON: down 11%
$SOL SOL: down 7%
$XRP XRP: down 5.2%
$ETH ETH: down 2.3%
📉 Bitcoin’s dominance has now surged past 60%, making it very clear who’s holding the line while the rest of the market bleeds.
So what’s going on?
A major factor is liquidity (or lack of it). Unlike Bitcoin, which enjoys strong market depth on exchanges like Binance and Coinbase (around $40M on either side of the order book), many altcoins are exposed. For example, XRP’s total depth is just around $5–6M. That means even a moderately large market sell can cause big price drops — not to mention auto-liquidations.
💥 In fact, ETH alone saw $43M in liquidations, and XRP followed with $32M. We’re clearly in a high-leverage environment, with Ethereum's open interest still sitting at a massive $24B — more than double its 2021 peak. That’s a red flag for anyone overextended.
Right now, ETH needs to hold $3,470. If that support level breaks, we could see more cascading liquidations and deeper pain across the altcoin space. But if ETH holds and consolidates, there’s still hope for a bounce.
📊 Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Indicator has slipped from 55 to 47, suggesting growing weakness despite some recent retail buzz.
So what could reignite altcoin momentum?
IMO, we’ll probably need to see Bitcoin not just break but hold above $124K to inject confidence back into the broader market. Only then could we expect capital to rotate into riskier altcoin plays again.
🔍 For now, I’m staying cautious, watching ETH’s key levels, and keeping an eye on how BTC dominance plays out. The setup still has potential — but the current environment demands respect for risk and solid positioning.
