Altcoin

38% of altcoins near all-time lows – Assessing 48% market cap wipeout

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Risk-off sentiment dominates, with traders closing positions and reducing leverage.

Posted: March 9, 2026 Avatar

By: Gladys Makena Journalist Edited By: Renuka Tahelyani

Gladys Makena Journalist Edited By: Renuka Tahelyani Posted: March 9, 2026 Share this article

With the broader crypto market on a hedge, amid reduced liquidity, altcoins have suffered significantly. Altcoins saw a sharp drop in demand, and capital inflows dried up while the capitulation rate soared.

As the market continued to decline, most holders panicked and closed positions, causing massive downside pressure on the market.

That’s why these tokens declined massively, leading to substantial losses on their price charts.

38% of altcoins are trading near ATLs

Amid a prolonged market decline, the altcoins‘ market cap dropped by over 48%, from a peak of $1.9 trillion to $981 billion.

Such a massive drop reflected capital exits and increased rotation into other assets as investors sought better alternatives.

With capital leaving altcoins, most of these coins have declined significantly from their 2025 peaks and ATHs. According to Crypto Rover, over 38% of active altcoins are currently trading near their all-time lows.

Source: CryptoRover on X

Take Lighter [LIT], for example: the altcoin traded 2.6% above its all-time low and 86% below its ATH, as of writing. The same fate holds for Ethena [ENA], which traded 7% above its ATL and 93% below its ATH of $1.52.

Thirdly, World Liberty Financial [WLFI] traded only 6% above its ATL and 69% below its ATH at press time.

Source: BlockchainCenter

With these crypto coins experiencing such massive losses, it’s safe to say it’s not an altcoin season, as the Altcoin Season Index sat around 43% at press time.

Also, the CoinMarketCap Altcoin Season Index stood at around 38, suggesting that more altcoins have underperformed relative to Bitcoin.

Why the decline?

Undoubtedly, altcoins have continued to decline as some investors have stepped back from the market, while others have abandoned it entirely.

Altcoin trading volume plunged from a peak of $241 billion in October 2025 to $99 billion at press time. This marked 58% decline in trading volume, a clear sign of reduced demand and appetite for these assets.

Source: CoinGlass

AMBCrypto observed the same fate on the Derivatives market, with altcoins’ Open Interest (OI) falling from $170 billion to $69.5 billion. A drop in OI suggested a reduced risk appetite and increased risk-off sentiment across all market participants.

Such market conditions indicated dominant bearishness, with some scaling while others closing.

Traditionally, overwhelming bearish behavior has preceded poor market performances.

Therefore, if the prevailing sentiment persists, these tokens are most likely to continue declining, with some even at risk of dropping below their ATH.

For a wake-up, the broader market requires a significant change in sentiment, creating a path for demand-side liquidity.

Final Summary

Altcoins face broad market pressure as liquidity dries up and investors rotate capital into safer assets like Bitcoin.
Nearly 38% of altcoins now trade near their all-time lows.

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Gladys Makena

Gladys Makena is a Cryptocurrency and Financial Analyst at AMBCrypto with four years of market analysis experience. Her quantitative expertise is supported by a strong background in Finance, providing a solid foundation for a data-driven approach. At AMBCrypto, Gladys is committed to providing the community with timely and insightful news, reports and technical analysis. More Articles