Why Is Crypto Down Today? – January 21, 2026
The crypto market is down today again. The cryptocurrency market capitalisation decreased by 2.4% over the past 24 hours to $3.1 trillion. At the time of writing, 92 of the top 100 coins have posted price falls. The total crypto trading volume stands at $152 billion.
- Crypto market cap is down 2.4% on Wednesday morning (UTC);
- 92 of the top 100 coins and all top 10 coins are down;
- BTC decreased by 2.2% to $89,104, and ETH is down 5% to $2,965;
- ‘The outlook remains mildly bearish through mid-year’;
- Traders are paying a premium for downside protection;
- Macro risks are quickly building;
- ‘Crypto markets appear more risk-averse than in previous cycles’;
- There is now a 30% chance that BTC will fall below $80,000 by 26 June;
- SkyBridge Capital leans harder into macro trades as the policy uncertainty under the US president increases market volatility;
- Delaware Life added the BlackRock US Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index to its fixed indexed annuity portfolio;
- US crypto spot ETFs reopened this week with significant outflows;
- Crypto market sentiment plunged and re-entered the fear zone.
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.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 2.2% and below $90,000. It is currently trading at $89,104.
Ethereum (ETH) decreased by 5%, below $3,000, now changing hands at $2,965. This is the highest decrease in the category.
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) is next, also with a 5% drop to $2,965, followed by Binance Coin (BNB)’s 4.7% to the price of $874.
Currently, the lowest fall in this period is seen by Dogecoin (DOGE), 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, Provenance Blockchain (HASH) is the category’s best performer. It appreciated 4.9% to the price of $0.02724.
Canton (CC) is next, with a rise of 4.4% to $0.1326.
On the other hand, Monero (XMR) posted a double-digit decrease of 15.2%, trading at $492.
It’s followed by Hyperliquid (HYPE), which fell by 8.2% to the price of $21.27.
The rest are down 5.4% and less per coin.
Meanwhile, alternative asset manager SkyBridge Capital is 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.
Calm On Surface, But Turmoil Rising Underneath
Sean Dawson, Head of Research at onchain options platform Derive.xyz, 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.
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.
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.
Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: TradingView
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.
Meanwhile, 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.
Source: CoinMarketCap
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 Grayscale’s $160.84 million in negative flows.
Fidelity follows with $151.13 million in outflows, with BlackRock coming in third, letting go of $56.87 million.
Source: SoSoValue
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. BlackRock is at the top, having recorded $92.3 million in negative flows.
In second place on this list, we find Fidelity, which posted $51.54 million in negative flows.
Source: SoSoValue
Meanwhile, Delaware Life 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.”
Quick FAQ
- Did crypto move with stocks today?
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, the S&P 500 was down 2.06%, the Nasdaq-100 decreased by 2.12%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.76%. This followed the US president’s renewed threats to impose new tariffs on eight NATO allies for opposing his Greenland desires.
- Is this drop sustainable?
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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