Shockwaves in Crypto: Are Altcoins Facing an Unprecedented Downfall Beyond Last Bear Market?

There are now more than 47 million tokens across major chains, spreading available liquidity thinner than at previous points in the cycle.

More than 40% of altcoins are trading at or near their all-time lows as of March 30, 2026, according to data shared by analyst Darkfost.

The scale of the drawdown is now bigger than what was seen during the last bear market, raising new concerns about liquidity and demand across the sector.

Altcoins Are Struggling

In a post on X, Darkfost noted that pressure on altcoins has increased to much heavier levels than earlier in the current cycle, with over 40% of them going close to record lows compared to about 38% at the height of the last bear market.

Per the analyst, a combination of macroeconomic stress and structural issues within the crypto markets caused the weakness. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the resulting instability in the traditional market have also put more pressure on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

At the same time, Darkfost blamed the growing number of tokens in the market, which they estimated at more than 47 million, including around 22 million on Solana, over 18 million on Base, and about 4 million on the BNB Smart Chain. According to them, that increase led to a dilution of liquidity, as it had to be spread across a wider set of assets, leaving smaller tokens with little, if any, trading activity and weaker price support.

Darkfost’s assessment mirrors that of fellow analyst Wise Crypto, who had earlier pointed out that the total market cap for altcoins had dropped below $1 trillion, with the likes of Ethereum (ETH) slipping below $2,000 for a time, Solana dropping about 12% over a two-day period, and several “high-beta” tokens recording even steeper losses.

“A few outliers are green, but the broader trend is clear: liquidity is leaving the altcoin market,” Wise Crypto stated at the time.

Sentiment has also deteriorated. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is standing at 8, showing “extreme fear.” The metric has been in that zone for nearly two months, with the period coinciding with reduced participation and lower conviction among traders.

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This situation has led to limited recovery so far, with ETH, the largest altcoin in the market, up by about 3% in the last 24 hours to put its price just above the $2,000 level, while SOL gained upwards of 2% over the same period, although it shed a similar percentage across 7 days. The likes of Jupiter (JUP), Zcash (ZEC), and Shiba Inu (SHIB) had registered the best performances over a day, with upticks ranging between 8% and 6%. Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Kaspa (KAS), and Hyperliquid (HYPE) were on the opposite end of the spectrum, dipping by 6%, 5%, and 4%, respectively.

What Could Follow

While Darkfots stopped short of calling a bottom, they did note that in the past, such extreme scales of underperformance, like we are currently witnessing, have created opportunities for investors able to identify the stronger projects within the carnage. That view is similar to a previous take by analytics firm Santiment, whose experts suggested that Bitcoin, and by extension the broader market, tends to move against the crowd when fear reaches extreme levels.

But as things stand, the macro calendar could add further turbulence before any stabilization, especially considering there are several upcoming U.S. economic events, including the March Jobs Report and Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech. Both have moved crypto prices in the past, and with sentiment low and altcoins under pressure not seen before in this cycle, market participants will be closely watching this coming week.