Bitcoin Plunge Wipes Out $500M—Dogecoin and Cardano Take Brutal Beating

Crypto markets bled red as Bitcoin’s sudden 12% drop triggered a cascade of liquidations—traders got wrecked betting against volatility (again).

Meme coin massacre: DOGE and ADA led altcoin losses, down 18% and 22% respectively. ’Fundamentals’ didn’t matter when leverage got flushed.

Silver lining? The liquidation cleanse sets up a healthier rally. Or so the bagholders insist between sobs.

Wall Street analysts: ’This is fine’ while quietly recalculating their year-end ’BTC $500K’ predictions.

Bitcoin STHs take defensive action

As AMBCrypto flagged, a repeat of the mid-Q1-style STH capitulation isn’t entirely off the table – unless BTC can muscle through the $106k mark, which remains a key psychological supply barrier.

Source: Glassnode

The latest sell-off has only turned up the heat on this narrative.

The market’s vibe? It’s back in “wait-and-see mode”, with eyes glued to April’s CPI (Consumer Price Index) print. Hence, the data drop could be the deciding factor.

However, the real twist comes from the rate cut narrative. While traders are eyeing potential cuts, history tells a different story: Even during peak tariff chaos, the Federal Reserve held a hawkish stance.

And now, with the U.S. and China striking a “breakthrough” deal, the odds of a major pivot to dovish policy are looking slimmer by the day.

That said, should Bitcoin fail to break through the $106k supply wall, STHs may adopt a defensive posture, triggering a liquidation cascade.

The recent $500 million in forced exits? It could be the initial spark in a larger market sell-off.

Altcoins’ safe haven appeal under fire

TOTAL3 (the crypto market cap excluding BTC and ETH) dropped by 2.32%, signaling that altcoins absorbed more pain than Bitcoin, which logged a comparatively smaller 1.05% drawdown.

Source: TradingView (TOTAL3)

Among large-caps, Doge led the downside, plunging nearly 10% to $0.22, while ADA closely trailed, falling 6.9% to $0.79.

Consequently, significant liquidations occurred, with DOGE alone seeing a $18 million squeeze in long positions, far surpassing ADA’s more modest $4.7 million in forced exits.

Historically, STHs sought refuge in altcoins as a hedge during periods of Bitcoin overextension or when BTC neared a local top. 

However, that dynamic no longer holds. Altcoins now MOVE in lockstep with Bitcoin, losing their role as volatility buffers.

Looking ahead, if bitcoin resumes its downtrend amid rising macro uncertainty, high-cap alts won’t escape the fallout.

Instead, they’ll likely accelerate the drawdown, setting the stage for a “market-wide” risk-off cascade.