Why Is Crypto Down Today? – February 2, 2026
The crypto market is down today again. It started the week by falling 2.9% over the past 24 hours and pulling back to $2.65 trillion. Moreover, 91 of the top 100 coins saw their prices decrease in this period. The total crypto trading volume stands at $199 billion, a similar level seen in the previous days.
- Crypto market cap is down 2.9% on Monday morning (UTC);
- 91 of the top 100 coins and all top 10 coins have gone down;
- BTC decreased by 2.1% to $76,472, and ETH fell 7.2% to $2,225;
- ‘From an Elliott Wave perspective, the market is playing out as expected’;
- Wave V is unlikely to start until Q2 of this year;
- ‘Nomination of Kevin Warsh as the Fed Chair and a hotter-than-expected PPI triggered a hawkish shock’;
- Strategy faces an unrealized loss of over $900 million;
- US spot BTC and ETH ETFs saw outflows of $509.7 million and $252.87 million, respectively;
- Typical ETF buyer is now underwater;
- Crypto market sentiment plunges into the extreme fear zone.
Crypto Winners & Losers
The week, and the month for that matter, began in the red. On Monday morning (UTC), all top 10 coins per market capitalisation have seen their prices drop.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 2.1%, currently trading at $76,472.
Ethereum (ETH) is down 7.2%, changing hands at $2,225. This is the second-highest drop in the category.
The fall is 7.7% by Lido Staked Ether (STETH), currently standing at $2,224.
XRP (XRP) is next, with a 4.3% drop, now trading at $1.58.
On the other hand, the smallest decrease among the top 10 is 1.3% by Tron (TRX), changing hands at $0.2829
Dogecoin (DOGE)’s 1.5% to $0.1032 is next, followed by BTC.
Furthermore, of the top 100 coins per market cap, 91 have posted price decreases today.
Of these, one saw a double increase. MYX Finance (MYX) is up 12.8% to the price of $5.7.
MemeCore (M) appreciated 7%, trading at $1.33, while the rest of the green list is up 4% and less.
As for the red list, Monero (XMR) fell 8.7% to the price of $396, followed by Kelp DAO Restaked (ETH RSETH)’s 8.1% drop to $2,376
‘The Market is Playing Out as Expected’
John Glover, Chief Investment Officer of Ledn, argued that a sense of panic had entered the BTC market last week as the coin fell below $84,000. The market hadn’t closed below this price since April 2025, Glover noted.
And yet, from an Elliott Wave perspective, the market is playing out as expected.
“We remain in Wave IV and look for this to complete somewhere between $71,000 and $84,000.” He adds: “Looking to accumulate BTC between these prices after having closed long positions at $117,000 once the Wave III top formed at $124,000.”
Moreover, Glover doesn’t see Wave V beginning until the second quarter of this year. Once it does start, his target will be $140,000 to $165,000, he said.
“I’ll be better able to reduce this range once we know where Wave IV completes. This count will be proven wrong if we close below $67,000 this year,” the CIO concluded.
Source: Ledn
Closing the week, Glassnode analysts noted that the latest news from the US (which had come out by Friday) pulled crypto down.
More specifically, the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the new Federal Reserve Chair and “a hotter-than-expected PPI triggered a hawkish shock,” the analysts said.
Levels & Events to Watch Next
At the time of writing on Monday morning, BTC was changing hands at $76,472. It has been a relatively calm day for the coin by the time of writing. It slowly decreased from the intraday high of $79,049 to the day’s low of $74,591.
Over the past week, ETH dropped 13%, trading within the $75,442–$90,117 range. It also fell 15% in the past 30 days and just below 40% from its all-time high of $126,080, recorded in October 2025.
Further decreases could see BTC’s price pull to $72,400, followed by the $70,100 and $68,000 zones.
Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: TradingView
At the same time, Ethereum was trading at $2,225. Its highest point was $2,432, seen at the beginning of this day. It gradually fell to the intraday low of $2,166, recovering somewhat since then.
Moreover, ETH decreased by 28.2% over the past month. It is also down 55% from the ATH of $4,946, posted five months ago.
Should ETH drop further, it will find itself below the $2,000 level, which would mark a significant shift. It may pull back to the $1,900 and $1,850 levels.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, the crypto market sentiment posted a major decrease, exiting the fear zone and plunging lower.
The crypto fear and greed index today stands at 18, compared to 28 on Friday and 26 on Saturday. With this move, it has entered the extreme fear zone.
This move showcases the significant worry permeating through the markets. It also highlights heightened risk avoidance among market participants. It’s currently unclear if the index will be able to pull upwards this week to any notable level.
Source: CoinMarketCap
ETFs Continue the Red Streak
The US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) closed last week and month with another high outflow level. They recorded $509.7 million in negative flows on Friday, 30 January. With that, the total net inflow dropped to $55.01 billion.
Of the twelve ETFs, one is red, while three are green. Yet the three’s collective inflow wasn’t enough to turn the category green for the day.
Ark & 21Shares took in $8.34 million, followed by Fidelity’s $7.3 million and VanEck’s $2.96 million in inflows. However, BlackRock posted $528.3 million in outflows.
Source: SoSoValue
Moreover, the US ETH ETFs also posted inflows during the Friday session, higher than those recorded on Thursday, letting go of $252.87 million. The total net inflow fell below $12 billion and now stands at $11.97 billion.
Of the nine ETH ETFs, two saw outflows, and none recorded inflows. BlackRock is at the top of this short, red list with outflows of $157.16 million. Fidelity follows with $95.71 million in negative flows.
Source: SoSoValue
Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy has seen its Bitcoin stack turn unprofitable after BTC fell below the $76,000 level. This means that the price dropped below Strategy’s average holding cost of $76,037 per coin.
Therefore, given that it holds 712,647 BTC, the company faces an unrealised loss of over $900 million. Nonetheless, it seems it will not be slowing down with its accumulation plan.
Moreover, Bitcoin falling below the average cost basis of US spot Bitcoin ETFs left the typical ETF buyer underwater.
Quick FAQ
- Did crypto move with stocks today?
The crypto market saw a notable decrease over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the US stock market closed the Friday session lower. By the end of trading on 30 January, the S&P 500 was down 0.43%, the Nasdaq-100 decreased by 1.28%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.36%. Nonetheless, the S&P 500 and the Dow ended January in the green. Market participants were digesting the December Producer Price Index report, as well as the US President’s Federal Reserve chair announcement.
- Is this drop sustainable?
The decreases are likely to continue in the short term. Market participants are searching for signals that would indicate how long the decline will last and what awaits in the mid to longer term. Moreover, they’re waiting to see if we’ll be entering the bear market soon.
You May Also Like
VFX Token vs Chainlink: When Real Trading Data Beats Oracle Promises
The Role of Blockchain in Building Safer Web3 Gaming Ecosystems
- Immutable Ownership of Assets Blockchain records can be manipulated by anyone. If a player owns a sword, skin, or plot of land as an NFT, it is verifiably in their ownership, and it cannot be altered or deleted by the developer or even hacked. This has created a proven track record of ownership, providing control back to the players, unlike any centralised gaming platform where assets can be revoked.
- Decentralized Infrastructure Blockchain networks also have a distributed architecture where game data is stored in a worldwide network of nodes, making them much less susceptible to centralised points of failure and attacks. This decentralised approach makes it exponentially more difficult to hijack systems or even shut off the game’s economy.
- Secure Transactions with Cryptography Whether a player buys an NFT or trades their in-game tokens for other items or tokens, the transactions are enforced by cryptographic algorithms, ensuring secure, verifiable, and irreversible transactions and eliminating the risks of double-spending or fraudulent trades.
- Smart Contract Automation Smart contracts automate the enforcement of game rules and players’ economic exchanges for the developer, eliminating the need for intermediaries or middlemen, and trust for the developer. For example, if a player completes a quest that promises a reward, the smart contract will execute and distribute what was promised.
- Anti-Cheating and Fair Gameplay The naturally transparent nature of blockchain makes it extremely simple for anyone to examine a specific instance of gameplay and verify the economic outcomes from that play. Furthermore, multi-player games that enforce smart contracts on things like loot sharing or win sharing can automate and measure trustlessness and avoid cheating, manipulations, and fraud by developers.
- Cross-Platform Security Many Web3 games feature asset interoperability across platforms. This interoperability is made viable by blockchain, which guarantees ownership is maintained whenever assets transition from one game or marketplace to another, thereby offering protection to players who rely on transfers for security against fraud. Key Security Dangers in Web3 Gaming Although blockchain provides sound first principles of security, the Web3 gaming ecosystem is susceptible to threats. Some of the most serious threats include:
