Crypto Market Plunge: Unpacking Today’s Sharp Downturn – January 19, 2026

Crypto markets are bleeding red. A sudden, broad-based sell-off has wiped billions from the digital asset space today, sending shockwaves through portfolios and leaving traders scrambling for answers.

The Liquidity Squeeze Hits Hard

Major exchanges are reporting a classic liquidity crunch. Order books are thinning just as large sell orders hit the tape, creating exaggerated price moves. It’s a reminder that in crypto’s 24/7 casino, the house edge can shift in a millisecond—no traditional market close to save you.

Regulatory Ripples Turn to Waves

Fresh commentary from global watchdogs is adding fuel to the fire. While no single policy dropped today, the cumulative weight of enforcement chatter and looming framework deadlines is triggering a classic ‘de-risk’ reflex. Some funds are pulling back, preferring to watch the regulatory theater from the sidelines with their fiat comfortably parked.

Macro Winds Blow Cold

Don’t ignore the old-world economy. Shifts in treasury yields and currency markets are sapping risk appetite across all speculative assets. Crypto, ever the high-beta play, is getting hit first and hardest. It’s a brutal lesson in correlation that even the most ardent decentralist can’t code away.

The Sentiment Spiral

Social sentiment indicators have flipped from greedy to fearful in hours. Leveraged long positions are being liquidated, creating a cascading effect. Each drop triggers more margin calls, which triggers more selling—a vicious cycle as old as finance itself, just dressed in new, algorithmic clothing.

Today’s plunge isn’t about a single flaw in blockchain tech. It’s a complex cocktail of market mechanics, external pressure, and raw human emotion. It serves as a stark, mid-January reminder: in crypto, the road to price discovery is paved with volatility. For every ‘number go up’ evangelist, days like this offer a cynical counter-narrative—sometimes, the market isn’t evolving; it’s just taking the money from the impatient and giving it to the prepared. The long-term thesis remains, but the short-term pain is undeniably real. Strap in.

Crypto Winners & Losers

As of Monday morning (UTC), all top 10 coins per market capitalisation have recorded price decreases over the past 24 hours.

dropped 2.7% since this time yesterday, changing hands at $92,532.

decreased by 3.6%, now trading at $3,192.

The highest fall in this period is7.7%, currently standing at $0.1267.

follows with a 6.7% decrease to the price of $133.

At the same time, the smallest drop is0.5%, trading at $0.3176.

Of the top 100 coins per market cap, 95 are down today, with 10 posting double-digit decreases.

The highest drop in this category is 12.7% byto the price of $0.6265.

is next, having dropped 12.5% and trading at $1.56.

As for the five green coins in this category,was the winner with a 9.3% rise, currently standing at $83.24.

Next up is, which appreciated 6% to the price of $624.

The rest are up between 4.5% and 2.3% per coin.

Meanwhile, mortgage lenderwill add specific crypto holdings to qualifying assets in its mortgage underwriting process. Borrowers will be able to use Bitcoin, Ether and stablecoins without selling them.

Likely to take effect in February, the system will apply across the lender’s non-agency products, including home purchases, refinancing, and investment properties.

Newrez is set to begin counting certain cryptocurrency holdings as qualifying assets in its mortgage underwriting process.#Newrez #Bitcoinhttps://t.co/dPdwWWS0yr

Further Downside Is Likely

In a recent email, John Glover, Chief Investment Officer of, highlighted that we are currently in Wave IV of the major bull run. Its competition target is between $71,000 and $84,000. The breakdown of any corrective wave is an A-B-C structure, as seen in the chart below.

“The question that has yet to be answered is whether the yellow path is the full Wave IV or we will follow the purple path and therefore have another MOVE lower to $71,000,” Glover writes. “From the breakerdown of wave C within this corrective pattern, it seems like another leg lower is likely.”

As to which path we’re following, the confirmation will come from either:

• a break and close above $104,000 (bottom of A), which would confirm that we followed the yellow path and are now starting Wave V,
• or a break below $80,000, which means a move to the low $70,000 before we head higher.

Moreover, Nic Puckrin, digital asset analyst and co-founder of the, added: “Another weekend, another sell-off in digital assets on the back of tariff news and geopolitics.” BTC has broken below a key support level of $94,000, which marked the January breakout trend line.

“From here, it’s likely we’ll see further downside unless buyers step in, with strong support around $88,000. So far, a small rebound has taken BTC back above $93,000, but it’s nothing to write home about.”

Moreover, today “likely still has some volatility in store, not least since the US market is closed today for Martin Luther King Day,” the analyst says. “Whether we see a deeper sell-off will depend on whether bitcoin closes the day below $90,000, which could see ETF holders exiting positions when the US market opens tomorrow.”

At the same time, “investors holding out for a rotation from metals to altcoins will be sorely disappointed,” Puckrin writes, “as the uncertainty and fears around Greenland are likely to get worse before they get better.”

Levels & Events to Watch Next

At the time of writing on Monday morning, BTC was changing hands at $92,532. The coin began the day at the $95,000 level, trading sideways for a while. After hitting the intraday high of $95,467, BTC plunged to the low of $92,263.

Over the past week, BTC is up 1%. It’s been trading in the $90,321-$97,538 range. Notably, it’s down 26.6% from its all-time high of $126,080 seen in October 2025.

Market participants are now looking to see if BTC will hold the $92,000 or will drop to $91,000. Should this happen, it may dip below the $90,000 zone. However, an increase could allow the coin to reclaim the $95,000 territory.

At the same time, ethereum was trading at $3,192. Initially trading sideways, the price reached the day’s highest point of $3,364. It then dived to the intraday low of $3,190. ETH has been trading at this level at the time of writing.

Moreover, ETH appreciated 1.6% over the past 7 days. It moved between $3,089 and $3,379. On the other hand, it’s down 35.3% from the August 2025 ATH of $4,946.

ETH could fall further to the $3,100 level, which may potentially lead it below $3,000. Yet, should it hold the current level, a market rise could enable it to return to the $3,300-$3,500 range.

Meanwhile, the crypto market sentiment has remained largely unchanged over the weekend.

The crypto fear and greed index fell from 50 to 49 on Friday. It has stood at 49 over the past couple of days, firmly in the neutral zone.

The metric indicates market uncertainty. Market participants await additional macroeconomic and geopolitical signals that WOULD point to the near-term market movements.

ETFs Paint Mixed Picture

The US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) closed the previous week with a break of a green streak, recording $394.68 million in negative flows. The total net inflow pulled back below $58 billion, currently standing at $57.82 billion.

Of the twelve ETFs, only one posted positive flows, while four recorded outflows. The one green fund was, which took in $15.09 million.

At the same time,let go of the highest amount among the twelve on Friday, with outflows of $205.22 million. It’s followed by$90.38 million.

On the other hand, the US ETH ETFs posted inflows, albeit a minor amount. On 16 January, these funds together took in $4.64 million. That said, this was their fifth consecutive day of positive flows. The total net inflow remained unchanged, standing at $12.91 billion.

Of the nine funds, one ETH ETF posted inflows, and one saw outflows at the same time.

recorded $14.87 million in positive flows, whilerecorded $10.22 million in negative flows.

Meanwhile,, an American burger chain, announced a $10 million purchase of BTC for its treasury. This is the company’s first disclosed direct allocation since it began accepting crypto payments in May 2025.

The move formalises what the restaurant chain calls a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” a system that channels all BTC received from customers directly into its treasury rather than converting it into cash.

Eight months ago today, Steak n Shake launched its burger-to-Bitcoin transformation when we started accepting bitcoin payments. Our same-store sales have risen dramatically ever since.

All Bitcoin sales go into our Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Today we increased our Bitcoin…

Additionally,is reportedly preparing a significant capital raise as it positions itself for a potential public listing.

The company is seeking between $200 million and $400 million in fresh funding, with an initial public offering (IPO) under consideration for next year.

ANCHORAGE DIGITAL SEEKS $200M FUNDING ROUND AS IPO PLANS TAKE SHAPE

Crypto custodian Anchorage Digital is seeking to raise $200 million in new funding as it moves forward with plans for a potential public listing.

The fundraising effort underscores continued institutional… pic.twitter.com/7Un0hfBw4a

Quick FAQ

The crypto market posted another drop over the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the US stock market closed the Friday session and the week lower. By the closing time on 16 January, thewas down 0.064%, thedecreased by 0.07%, and thefell by 0.17%. Treasury yields jumped to a four-month high amid uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve’s next steps.

The decrease may continue in the short term. It’s yet unclear how long it may last, and market participants wait for additional signals that could clarify that. That said, analysts argue that further increases are not only possible but likely to occur.