Altcoins fall as total market capitalization drops below $1 trillion
A sharp sell-off hit the altcoin market on Friday, pushing total market capitalization below the $1 trillion mark for the first time in several weeks.
$ETH and $SOL lead the decline
The altcoin market experienced a brutal session on Friday, March 27, as investors aggressively closed positions in a rush for liquidity. The “safe haven” narrative, which briefly resurfaced when the U.S., Israel, and Iran exchanged strikes on February 28, largely collapsed under broader risk-off sentiment.
According to market data, the intensified sell-off pushed total altcoin market capitalization below the psychological $1 trillion level for the first time since early March. As of 12:15 PM EST, the sector was valued at $987 billion, marking a grim milestone for the quarter.
Leading the decline was Ethereum, which dropped 4% on the day. Failing to hold its peak at $2,074, the second-largest digital asset fell to $1,972, dragging its market cap below $240 billion.
Volatility proved fatal for overleveraged traders, triggering nearly $120 million in long liquidations. Although Ethereum attempted a brief rebound above $2,000 midday, the rally lacked conviction, and at the time of writing, the asset was trading below that level again.
Solana performed even worse, becoming the worst-performing large-cap asset with a 5.4% decline. After hitting resistance at $93 on Wednesday, Solana lost nearly 12% of its value over 48 hours. The futures market impact was uneven: out of $26 million in total liquidations, a staggering $25 million came from long positions.
BNB and XRP also declined, falling 2.8% to $609 and 2.7% to $1.33 respectively. High-beta assets such as WLD were hit hardest by panic, dropping 10%, while SIREN recorded the steepest loss of the day, plunging 51.5% and erasing nearly all recent gains.
In contrast, Bitcoin Cash managed a modest gain of 1.3%, joined by small green moves from LEO (0.3%) and Canton (3.2%). However, the true outlier was micro-cap token Trillions, which surged an astonishing — though likely illiquid — 7,700% in 24 hours.
See also: "Bitcoin falls below $67,000 amid geopolitical tension and $14B options expiry"
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