Why Is Crypto Down Today? – January 21, 2026
Crypto markets tumble—what's behind the January 21st sell-off?
The Macro Squeeze
Global liquidity's drying up. Central banks aren't playing nice, and risk assets are feeling the pinch. It’s the old story: when traditional finance catches a cold, crypto gets the flu—or so the legacy players love to say.
Regulatory Headwinds Bite
New proposals from watchdogs worldwide are hitting the wires. Ambiguity breeds fear, and fear triggers sell orders. Some see it as a necessary cleanse; others call it targeted sabotage. The usual dance.
Profit-Taking Pressure
After recent runs, short-term holders are cashing out. It’s a classic consolidation phase—weak hands shaken, leverage flushed. Volatility isn't a bug; it's the core feature.
The On-Chain Reality Check
Look past the panic. Network activity tells a different story: fundamentals aren't crumbling. This is a sentiment-driven dip, not a structural collapse. The smart money’s watching, not fleeing.
So, is it doom or opportunity? Depends on your timeframe—and whether you trust code more than central bank promises. Remember, in crypto, winter is always followed by a spring the suits never see coming.
Crypto Winners & Losers
As of Wednesday morning (UTC), all top 10 coins per market capitalisation have seen a price decrease over the past 24 hours.
fell by 2.2% and below $90,000. It is currently trading at $89,104.
decreased by 5%, below $3,000, now changing hands at $2,965. This is the highest decrease in the category.
is next, also with a 5% drop to $2,965, followed by4.7% to the price of $874.
Currently, the lowest fall in this period is seen by, which dropped 1.8%, currently standing at $0.1248.
Of the top 100 coins per market cap, 92 are down today. Of the eight green coins,is the category’s best performer. It appreciated 4.9% to the price of $0.02724.
is next, with a rise of 4.4% to $0.1326.
On the other hand,posted a double-digit decrease of 15.2%, trading at $492.
It’s followed by, which fell by 8.2% to the price of $21.27.
The rest are down 5.4% and less per coin.
Meanwhile, alternative asset manageris leaning harder into macro trades, given the increasing policy uncertainty under the US President Donald TRUMP is rising market volatility. “Because of the volatility, the macro traders have done better,” founder Anthony Scaramucci said.
“This is more of a timing issue than a direction issue. I don’t think the fundamental story for bitcoin has changed. If anything, you’ve seen a lot of consolidation,” he said.
SkyBridge is leaning into macro trades amid policy-driven volatility while staying cautious on regulation and positive on bitcoin’s long-term outlook, Anthony @Scaramucci said.#Scaramucci #SkyBridge https://t.co/rirukb9ehU
Calm On Surface, But Turmoil Rising Underneath
Sean Dawson, Head of Research at onchain options platform, commented that any current market calm is unlikely to last. Even if markets appear calm on the surface, macro risks are building.
We’re seeing rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Europe, particularly around Greenland. These are raising “the risk of a regime shift back into a higher-volatility environment, a dynamic not currently reflected in spot prices,” Dawson says.
“Against a backdrop of persistent geopolitical uncertainty, crypto markets appear more risk-averse than in previous cycles, despite historically low realised volatility.”
Looking at options, “the outlook remains mildly bearish through mid-year.” BTC 25-delta skew has deteriorated sharply, plunging from +5% this time last year to -3%. This suggests that traders are paying a premium for downside protection.
“This persistent skew suggests markets are increasingly positioned for weakness in the first half of the year, Dawson writes.
Vol looking due for a breakout; 30 and 90 dte atm iv been crushed to 2 monthly lows at 38%.
Greenland tensions, war (?) in Iran and a continuing K-shaped economy makes this look cheap pic.twitter.com/86P2ZgIUxx
Moreover, the above view is reinforced by positioning, he argues. Observing the BTC June 26 expiry, he finds a significant concentration of put open interest across the $75,000-$85,000 strikes. This implies “expectations of a drawdown into the mid-70s to low-80s before the second half of the year.”
Additionally, options markets show a clear downside skew. There is now a 30% chance that BTC will fall below $80,000 by 26 June, compared to a 19% chance it rallies above $120,000 in the same period.
“These expectations are consistent with trends established since October 10’s flash crash. While markets have stabilised modestly since then, BTC’s rebound above $90,000 has been tepid, and confidence remains fragile,” Dawson concludes.
Levels & Events to Watch Next
At the time of writing on Wednesday morning, BTC was changing hands at $89,104. The coin began the day with the intraday high of $91,320, soon decreasing below the $90,000 level and hitting the intraday low of $87,901.
Also, it has now posted a notable drop in the 1-week timeframe. It fell 6.2%, trading in the $88,312–$97,538 range.
Given that BTC hit the $87,900 level with this latest pullback, the price may revisit the $86,200 and $85,000 zones as well. This could open doors for the $79,000 level.
At the same time, ethereum was trading at $2,965. Its intraday high was $3,120, seen early in the day. It then gradually but swiftly moved to the day’s low of $2,924. It’s stayed below the $3,000 mark since.
While usually outperforming BTC in the weekly timeframe, ETH has now posted a higher drop: 10.9%. It has moved between $2,935 and $3,379.
Having dipped below $3,000, ETH may continue decreasing to $2,890, followed by $2,800 and $2,760. Deeper pullbacks are possible if we don’t see a shift in the market soon.
Ethereum (ETH)24h7d30d1yAll timeMeanwhile, the crypto market sentiment noted a significant fall over the past day.
The crypto fear and greed index plunged from 45 seen yesterday to 32 today. This has pushed it out of the neutral and into the fear zone.
The metric clearly shows a palpable rise of caution, fear, and uncertainty among market participants, fuelled by the deteriorating macroeconomic and geopolitical circumstances.
ETFs Markets Return Red
Traditional markets were closed in the US on Monday and reopened on Tuesday, thus providing fresh data for the US crypto spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
On 20 January, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) closed the first session of the week with $483.38 million in negative flows. The total net inflow pulled back to $57.34 billion.
Of the twelve ETFs, eight recorded outflows. There were no inflows. The highest among these is$160.84 million in negative flows.
follows with $151.13 million in outflows, withcoming in third, letting go of $56.87 million.
Moreover, the US ETH ETFs broke their latest green streak on Tuesday, posting $229.95 million in outflows. With this, the total net inflow fell to $12.68 billion.
Of the nine funds, six ETH ETFs posted outflows, and none saw inflows.is at the top, having recorded $92.3 million in negative flows.
In second place on this list, we find, which posted $51.54 million in negative flows.
Meanwhile,has added the BlackRock US Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index to its fixed indexed annuity portfolio, saying it’s the first time an insurance carrier has offered an index that includes crypto.
“As the retirement-planning landscape evolves, we’re continuously and thoughtfully innovating to meet the needs of financial professionals and their clients,” said Colin Lake, president and CEO of Delaware Life Marketing. “Our fixed index annuities deliver what today’s investors want and need: opportunity for growth with protection.”
Delaware Life Insurance Company, a Group 1001 insurance subsidiary, announced the addition of the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index to its fixed indexed annuity (FIA) product lineup, making it the first U.S. insurer to introduce bitcoin exposure within this…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 20, 2026Quick FAQ
The crypto market posted another drop over the last 24 hours. Additionally, the US stock market closed the Tuesday session sharply lower. By the closing time on 20 January, thewas down 2.06%, thedecreased by 2.12%, and thefell by 1.76%. This followed the US president’s renewed threats to impose new tariffs on eight NATO allies for opposing his Greenland desires.
For now, additional drops are likely. The markets in general are feeling pressure due to geopolitical tensions and economic stress. Longer-term, analysts argue that we may still see another leg up.
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