Bitcoin Tumbles, Altcoins Bleed: August 18 Crypto Carnage Unpacked
Blood in the streets as BTC leads the crypto rout—classic 'buy the dip' chatter already drowning out panic sells.
Altcoins get wrecked. No safe havens today, just a sea of red and overleveraged degens sweating their margin calls.
Silver lining? The Fed's pet inflation metrics still look worse than your portfolio. Maybe stack sats while Wall Street burns.
Market Drivers and Pressures
Bitcoin went through a surge in liquidations after two days of low trading, with $128 million in long positions being unwound—an increase of 1,753%. This wave of leverage unwinding triggered sell-offs across major assets.
Adding to this, profit-taking put pressure on ethereum after it hit $4,785, pushing its RSI to a heated 87.6. As a result, the pullback shifted the momentum back toward Bitcoin dominance, which now stands at 58.9%.
Moreover, macroeconomic jitters added to the uncertainty. Traders await Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole meeting between August 18 and 20. Additionally, capital flows confirmed a risk-off mood, with crypto ETFs recording $73.4 million in net outflows.
Gainers and Losers in Focus
Despite the broader weakness, a few altcoins recorded gains. chainlink (LINK) led with a 4.79% rise to $25.71. OKB followed with a 2.9% increase to $120.34, while Monero (XMR) added 2.49% at $271.56. POL, formerly MATIC, rose 1.85% to $0.2505.
It was a tough day for several tokens. Raydium (RAY) took a hit, dropping 8.35% to trade at $3.41. Hyperliquid (HYPE) wasn’t far behind, falling 6.81% to $43.69. Meanwhile, Pi (PI) and Aerodrome Finance (AERO) saw declines of 6.63% and 6.50%, respectively. Interestingly, Hyperliquid also had the highest loser volume, coming in at $209.38 million.
Broader Market Indicators
The Fear and Greed Index is sitting at 56 as of writing, which suggests that the market is neutral. On the other hand, the Altcoin Season Index is at 43, indicating that Bitcoin is still the main attraction.
In addition, the CoinMarketCap 100 Index has taken a slight dip of 2.66%, now resting at $242.33, which hints at some weakness among the top tokens. Open interest remains robust, with $871.02 billion in perpetual contracts and $4.14 billion in futures.
The crypto market is stuck between Optimism and caution. While Bitcoin’s dominance and ETF outflows suggest that investors lean towards safety as they wait for favorable macroeconomic signals, some altcoins, like LINK, are still managing to stand out.
Also Read: Weekly Crypto Inflows Soar $3.75B, Ethereum Leads the Pack
