The post Bitcoin sell-off ripples through altcoins as market cap contracts appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Bitcoin’s slide below $85,000 has triggered broad weakness across major altcoins, with market data showing losses extending beyond BTC into the broader market.  While short-term price action has stabilized in pockets, aggregate figures suggest risk appetite has cooled rather than rotated. Major altcoins follow Bitcoin lower Among the top ten crypto assets excluding Bitcoin and stablecoins, losses were widespread over the past 24 hours. Ethereum traded around $2,818, down 6.38% on the day, while BNB slipped 4.06% to roughly $865. XRP fell 5.79% to $1.80, extending its weekly decline to more than 6%.  Source: CoinMarketCap Solana posted one of the sharpest pullbacks among large caps, down 6.26% on the day and over 8.5% across seven days. Memecoins and high-beta assets also struggled. Dogecoin dropped 6.69% in 24 hours, while Cardano fell 7.17%, underscoring the lack of defensive positioning within the altcoin complex. Volume data suggests the moves were not isolated. Ethereum recorded more than $36 billion in 24-hour trading volume. At the same time, Solana exceeded $6 billion, indicating that selling pressure was broadly distributed rather than confined to thin liquidity conditions. Altcoin market cap drifts lower Total altcoin market capitalization declined to around $1.18 trillion, continuing a downtrend that has been in place since early December. While short-lived rebounds appeared earlier in the month, the broader trajectory shows lower highs and lower lows, pointing to sustained capital outflows rather than temporary volatility.  The contraction coincides with Bitcoin’s failure to reclaim higher resistance levels, reinforcing the market’s current risk-off posture. Notably, the data does not show meaningful divergence between large-cap and mid-cap altcoins. The decline appears systemic, with most sectors moving in tandem rather than investors reallocating into select narratives. No clear signs of altcoin rotation Despite Bitcoin’s pullback, there is limited evidence of a classic rotation into altcoins. The…

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Filed under: News - @ January 30, 2026 8:25 am