Crypto markets extended their pullback on Monday as risk appetite remained fragile across assets, with bitcoin slipping below the $76,000 mark earlier in the session before going back to near $76,800.
Key Takeaways
Bitcoin dipped below $76,000 before stabilizing near $76,800, with the broader correction still intact.
Major altcoins including Ethereum, XRP, and Solana moved lower in tandem, pushing the total crypto market cap to around $2.58 trillion.
Weakness extended beyond crypto, as silver and gold declined while the dollar index edged higher.
The broader tone stayed cautious, reflected in on-chain sentiment gauges and muted trading behavior across major tokens.
Bitcoin drifts lower as sentiment cools
Bitcoin’s move under $76,000 marked another soft leg in the ongoing correction. While the price recovered slightly, the weekly decline remains close to 11%, keeping traders focused on whether near-term support levels can hold. Volumes stayed active but lacked the urgency typically seen during sharper selloffs, suggesting a controlled reduction in exposure rather than panic-driven exits.
Despite this the general sentiment in the market is currently very bearish. While some analysts maintani optimism for Bitcoin's short-term recovery after a healthy correction, investors are starting to lose confidence in the crypto market. And this doesn't just stop at the crypto market - commodities also took a hit after their incredible surge last week.
Altcoins follow the move as market cap slips
Major altcoins tracked bitcoin lower, adding pressure to the total crypto market capitalization, which fell to around $2.58 trillion, down roughly 2.6% on the day.
Ethereum traded near $2,256, down about 8.4% over the past 24 hours and nearly 19.5% on the week. XRP hovered around $1.59, posting a daily decline just over 3% and a weekly drop of roughly 13%. Solana changed hands near $100, down about 5.4% on the day and close to 16% lower compared with last week.
The synchronized move across large-cap tokens underlined the lack of rotation into higher-risk crypto assets.
Extreme fear dominates market psychology
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 18, firmly in “extreme fear” territory. Historically, such readings tend to coincide with periods of heightened uncertainty, where investors favor capital preservation and wait for clearer macro or technical signals before re-entering risk positions.
Liquidations remain contained
Derivatives data from Coinglass showed about $460 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for roughly $350 million and shorts near $110 million.
Ethereum and Bitcoin led the unwind, with ETH seeing around $172 million in liquidations and BTC close to $149 million. Smaller but notable liquidations were also recorded in Solana at roughly $22 million and XRP, alongside a broad mix of mid-cap and lower-liquidity tokens.
The distribution suggests pressure was spread across the market rather than concentrated in a single asset.
Traditional markets add to the cautious tone
Outside crypto, precious metals also opened the week under pressure. Silver began trading near $80, down around 5.5%, while gold slipped to about $4,720, a daily decline of roughly 3.6%. At the same time, the U.S. dollar index edged higher by 0.09% to 97.23, adding modest headwinds to both metals and risk assets more broadly.
Taken together, the moves suggest a market environment defined less by shock and more by restraint, as investors across asset classes reassess exposure amid mixed macro signals and subdued risk appetite.