All the top-10 cryptocurrencies are extending yesterday’s losses as total market cap holds out around $2.9 trillion.
Crypto markets remained under pressure on Friday morning, Jan. 30, as risk assets extended yesterday’s losses following renewed macro uncertainty in the United States and globally.
Bitcoin (BTC) keeps sliding and as of press time the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is down 3% and trading around $83,200, after hitting as low as $81,300 over the past 24 hours. The past two days have brought BTC’s weekly losses to 6.5%.
Ethereum (ETH) is also down about 3% this morning, trading near $2,740 and also down about 6% on the weekly timeframe. All of the remaining top-10 tokens by market capitalization are also in the red, with XRP and SOL seeing the biggest losses over the past seven days, down 7% and 8% respectively.
Crypto prices remain stuck in a choppy range after moving lower toward the end of this week, as sharp tech earnings and swings in gold and silver prices triggered a broader multi-trillion-dollar shake-up across global markets, with investors locking in profits and pulling back from risk.
Everyone Is Selling
Glassnode analysts noted in today’s thread on X that long-term holders of Bitcoin continue distributing coins into market weakness, adding to growing sell-side pressure.
“Long-Term Holders remain active spenders. Over the past 30 days, LTHs have distributed >12K BTC/day on average, equivalent to ~370K BTC/month,” the analysts said.
The analysts added that Bitcoin miners are also consistently sending BTC to exchanges, contributing additional structural selling pressure.
Investor sentiment has worsened sharply as of this morning, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index now in the “extreme fear” zone, reflecting heightened caution among traders.
Big Movers and Liquidations
Looking at the top-100 assets by market cap, Pi Network (PI) is today’s biggest gainer, rising about 6.3% over the past 24 hours.
On the downside, Hyperliquid (HYPE) led losses, sliding nearly 11%, retracing some of its massive rally earlier this week. HYPE is still up over 31% in the past seven days.
CoinGlass data shows a spike in 24-hour liquidations today, with roughly $1.8 billion in crypto positions liquidated over the past 24 hours. Long positions accounted for most of the wipeout, totaling about $1.68 billion.
By asset, Bitcoin led liquidations with approximately $792.8 million, followed by Ethereum at $424.8 million. Silver perpetual futures on TradeXYZ came in third with about $95.6 million liquidated.
ETFs and Macro Conditions
On Thursday, Jan. 29, spot crypto exchange-traded funds saw relatively heavy outflows. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $155.6 million in net outflows, bringing total net assets fell to $16.7 billion, according to SoSoValue data.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs, meanwhile, posted even larger net outflows, with $817.9 million total leaving the products, while total net assets declined to $107.6 billion.
In macroeconomic news, President Donald Trump today nominated Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, ending months of speculation around the U.S. central bank’s leadership.
Paul Howard, a senior director at high-frequency market maker and OTC liquidity provider Wincent, told The Defiant that the move appeared to coincide with a broader risk-off reaction rather than a fundamental shift in market expectations.
“What was meant to be a bullish move for the markets rotating out Fed chairman to Warsh appears to have (at least) coincided with a broad risk sell-off the last 24h,” Howard said. “What we are seeing is more likely to be a knee-jerk.”
Howard added that, over the longer term, the appointment could accelerate structural changes in how macroeconomic policy is implemented, particularly under an administration that has signaled support for a more crypto-friendly landscape.
