The decline continued into the weekend, sending Bitcoin to $65,500 on some exchanges, its lowest level since early March. The volatility proved fatal for overleveraged traders, triggering nearly $120 million in long liquidations. While ETH attempted a brief midday recovery above $2,000, the rally lacked conviction, and the asset was once again trading below the threshold at press time. The altcoin market suffered a sharp sell-off on Friday, with total capitalization dropping below $1 trillion for the first time in weeks. The altcoin market also changed its profile, with more numerous listings, but lower overall value.
Bitcoin started the week under pressure after it failed to clear higher bramridge trust resistance levels. The downdraft was spearheaded by ethereum (ETH), which suffered a 4% intraday slide. After failing to sustain its peak of $2,074, the second-largest digital asset tumbled to $1,972, dragging its market cap below the $240 billion mark. For altcoins as a whole, long liquidations still dominate, due to the overall bearish trend with no relief rallies.
This level of open interest is the lowest since the summer of 2025, though not the lowest in history. Some traders are still tracking older projects, expecting eventual new developments. As a result, institutional clients now concentrate on a narrow set of assets rather than building wide portfolios, with BlackRock’s own bitcoin holdings reflecting that demand. BNB and XRP both saw their valuations eroded, dropping 2.8% to $609 and 2.7% to $1.33, respectively. Other tokens include examples from previous hype cycles, such as the meme token CHILLGUY, the AI agent token ZEREBRO, and even the gaming token MAVIA. Later that day, Bitcoin rose close to $72,000 after US President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran had reached a de-escalation deal.
Bitcoin Drops Below $67,000 as Geopolitical Tensions and $14B Options Expiry Weigh on Markets
- The altcoin market suffered a sharp sell-off on Friday, with total capitalization dropping below $1 trillion for the first time in weeks.
- In other words, the current weakness is no longer just a simple air pocket.
- Most of the shorted tokens show overall bearish signals, making traders confident in shorting.
- Iran rejected the statement, and Bitcoin quickly fell back toward $69,000.
Iran rejected the statement, and Bitcoin quickly fell back toward $69,000. Altcoin open interest has not recovered from the October 2025 drop. Overall open interest peaked at around $38B, before tanking to the current levels of $12B-$14B.
AI as crypto’s natural partner
Mitrade does not issue advice, recommendations or opinion in relation to acquiring, holding or disposing of our products. All of our products are over-the-counter derivatives over global underlying assets. Mitrade provides execution only service, acting as principal at all times. Chain Opera AI (COAI) is the most longed token according to Alphractal. Over 83% of COAI traders took up long positions, with most of the open interest on Binance.
Large-cap altcoins track Bitcoin lower
Solana ( SOL) fared even worse, emerging as the biggest laggard among high-cap assets with a 5.4% plunge. Since hitting a wall of resistance at $93 on Wednesday, SOL has shed nearly 12% of its value in a 48-hour window. The fallout in the futures market was lopsided; of the $26 million in total SOL liquidations, a staggering $25 million belonged to punished long positions. The altcoin market endured a brutal session on Friday, March 27, as investors aggressively unwound positions in a frantic flight to liquidity. Some assets invite concentrated short positions, while others are longed, in expectation of a breakout.
During previous cycles, the crypto market could still create the illusion that a big collective rebound was possible. Too many assets fight for liquidity that has become more selective. This does not mean that the entire altcoin universe is doomed. It means that the majority of weak projects risk being ignored longer than before. This latter idea is a coherent inference with the liquidity dilution described by several sources. These crypto coins have their own blockchains which use proof of work mining or proof of stake in some form.
This is where Matt Hougan’s analysis, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, makes perfect sense. For him, the old scenario where money flowed from Bitcoin to Ethereum then broadly poured into altcoins no longer works as before. Speaking at the Digital Asset Summit in New York on March 24, Mitchnick described a market that has moved sharply away from broad exposure to smaller assets. Bucking the trend, bitcoin cash ( BCH) managed a modest 1.3% climb, joined by minor green candles from LEO (0.3%) and Canton (3.2%). However, the true anomaly was the micro-cap Trillions, which posted an eye-popping, albeit likely illiquid, 7,700% surge within 24 hours.
Overall open interest on COAI was just $6.3M, as with other tokens, expecting a breakout. In other words, the crypto market no longer seems ready to lift everything that moves. The next cycles could mainly reward projects that have real use, visible traction, and measurable utility. The rest could continue to lag, even in a more favorable environment.
The AI-linked token rose more than 100% in 24 hours and traded above $1.60 at press time. Even so, it remained over 50% below its recent all-time high of $3.60 reached earlier this week. Bitcoin (BTC) moved lower this week after another failed attempt to break above $72,000. The decline pulled the wider crypto market down, while a few smaller tokens moved against the broader trend. Altcoins still have under 20% market cap dominance, as the market shifted to BTC. Some assets are viewed with caution, as the speculative trading leads to elevated volatility, with the potential for insider price moves or deliberate pumps.
