Here’s why the crypto crash is intensifying as liquidations hit $1.6 billion

By Crispus Nyaga

Jan 31, 2026 at 7:00 PM UTC

Edited by Anthony Patrick

Markets

Here’s why the crypto crash is intensifying as liquidations hit $1.6 billion - 1

The ongoing crypto crash intensified on Saturday, with Bitcoin and most altcoins being in the deep red.

Summary

The crypto crash accelerated on Saturday, with Bitcoin tumbling to $75,000.
The market capitalization of all coins dropped to $2.7 trillion.
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market is reacting to the soaring risks.

Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below the important support level at $80,000 for the first time in months, while Ethereum (ETH) moved to a low of $2,300. The market capitalization of all tokens dropped by 5.5% in the last 24 hours to $2.63 trillion.

The worst-performing tokens were cryptocurrencies like River, Story, Lighter, Virtuals Protocol, Worldcoin, and Pudgy Penguins, which plunged by over 15%.

This crypto crash happened as the futures open interest in the industry continued falling, reaching a low of $113 billion, and total liquidations hit over $1.6 billion.

Bitcoin liquidations rose to $570 million, while Ethereum positions worth over $554 million were liquidated. The other top liquidations were coins like Solana and XRP. Over 408k traders were liquidated.

Bitcoin and the crypto market crashed as investors reacted to the ongoing ETF outflows in the United States, which signified limited buying among institutional and retail investors. Data shows that Bitcoin ETFs have had outflows in the last three consecutive months. Other ETFs like XRP and Solana continued to underperform.

The crash happened as the Crypto Fear and Greed Index remained in the red. After peaking at 60 this year, the index tumbled to the fear zone of 26.

Investors are fearful that Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to become the next Federal Reserve Chairman. Warsh has a history of delivering highly hawkish statements, meaning that he will become like Jerome Powell once confirmed by the Senate.

Additionally, there are concerns that Trump will attack Iran in the coming days, a move that will lead to higher crude oil prices and higher market volatility. Iran has hinted that it will respond strongly if the US attacks, including by shutting the Strait of Hormuz.

As a result, Bitcoin has constantly underperformed the market whenever major risks emerged, raising concerns about its role as a safe-haven asset.