What Is Causing the Decline in Cryptocurrency Values Today? – February 4, 2026

Following a brief period of gains, the cryptocurrency market has declined today. It has decreased by 2.3% in the last 24 hours, bringing the total market capitalization to $2.66 trillion. Additionally, 64 out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies experienced price reductions during this period. The overall trading volume for cryptocurrencies is currently at $160 billion.

TLDR:

The cryptocurrency market capitalization has fallen by 2.3% on Wednesday morning (UTC);

64 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies and 7 of the top 10 cryptocurrencies have seen declines;

BTC has decreased by 2.9% to $76,415, while ETH has dropped by 1.7% to $2,281;

‘The prevailing theme across markets this week is not about direction, but rather compression’;

‘Time is being compressed instead of trends being resolved’;

GameStop’s liquidation has not been confirmed, but its recent actions have ignited market speculation;

Altcoins continue to trade within a range with diminishing volatility;

‘For cryptocurrency investors, this phase favors discipline over speculation’;

Michael Burry suggested that declines in BTC could lead to a $1 billion sell-off in gold and silver;

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest continued to purchase assets during the market downturn;

Tom Lee defended Bitmine’s ETH treasury strategy against criticism;

US spot BTC ETFs experienced outflows of $272.02 million, while spot ETH ETFs recorded inflows of $14.06 million;

Crypto market sentiment has dropped to its lowest point in two months.

Crypto Winners & Losers

On Wednesday morning (UTC), 7 of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization have experienced price declines.

Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen by 2.9%, currently trading at $76,415. This marks the second-largest decrease in this category.

Bitcoin (BTC)24h7d30d1yAll time

Ethereum (ETH) has risen by 4.3%, now trading at $2,318. This is the second-largest increase in this category.

The most significant drop on this list is 6.5% by Solana (SOL), which is currently priced at $97.8.

Simultaneously, three cryptocurrencies recorded gains, with only one exceeding 0.5%. Tron (TRX) increased by 1.1%, trading at $0.2865.

Dogecoin (DOGE) and Figure Heloc (FIGR_HELOC) appreciated by 0.3% and 0.2%, reaching $0.1083 and $1.04, respectively.

Furthermore, among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, 64 have reported price declines today.

One of these experienced a double-digit drop: Hyperliquid (HYPE) is down 10.5%, now priced at $33.33.

Provenance Blockchain (HASH) follows with a 9.7% decline, now valued at $0.01941.

At the same time, Cosmos Hub (ATOM) and PAX Gold (PAXG) are the top performers among the gainers, increasing by 4.4% and 3.5% to $2.09 and $5,106, respectively.

Meanwhile, Michael Burry, the investor known for ‘The Big Short’, indicated that Bitcoin’s ongoing declines could lead to a $1 billion sell-off in gold and silver.

“It appears that up to $1 billion in precious metals were liquidated at the end of the month due to falling crypto prices,” Burry stated. He added that the correlation between crypto and precious metals has created “disturbing scenarios.”

BITCOIN SLIDE COULD WIPE OUT COMPANIES
Michael Burry cautioned that Bitcoin’s continued decline could erase substantial value, particularly for companies holding significant BTC reserves. He noted that Bitcoin has not succeeded as a safe haven like gold and could compel aggressive corporate holders into…

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) February 3, 2026

‘Time Compressed Rather Than Trend Resolved’

Tony Severino, a market analyst at YouHodler, remarked that “the prevailing theme across markets this week is not direction, but compression,” Severino concludes.

“Currency volatility is increasing even as the dollar weakens, metals are maintaining extreme levels without breaking, and Bitcoin remains confined within one of the tightest volatility ranges in its history,” he noted. “These conditions tend to frustrate short-term participants, but they also indicate that markets are working off time rather than trend.”

“For cryptocurrency investors, this phase rewards discipline over speculation. Macro forces are shifting beneath the surface, and technical structures across assets suggest that resolution is nearing – even if the timing remains uncertain. When volatility expands from these conditions, history indicates that the resulting move is unlikely to be subtle. Until then, patience, positioning, and risk management are the true advantages.”

Severino explained that BTC remains confined within a tightening range. However, there is a “more significant signal” emerging on the monthly timeframe.

“Bollinger Bands on the monthly chart are the tightest they have ever been, indicating an extreme level of volatility compression,” Severino stated. Additionally, BTC continues to trade below the monthly basis line.

According to the analyst, sustained closes below the monthly Bollinger basis often precede “capitulation-style moves in the months that follow.”

“This does not guarantee immediate downside, but it reinforces the notion that time is being compressed rather than trend resolved. When volatility eventually expands from these conditions, the resulting move has historically been decisive – and markets seldom provide ample warning once that expansion commences.”

After GameStop transferred its entire 4,710 BTC treasury to an exchange this week, revealing unrealized losses. A liquidation has not been confirmed, Severino noted, but “the move alone was sufficient to ignite market speculation, highlighting how sensitive sentiment remains regarding corporate-held Bitcoin.”

Meanwhile, altcoins are trailing behind Bitcoin, with total market cap metrics struggling to regain previous support levels. “Technically, this reflects caution rather than capitulation, as many altcoins remain range-bound with decreasing volatility.”

That said, early rotation is starting to emerge, he added. Higher-quality Layer 1s, Layer 2s, and infrastructure-focused tokens are showing improved relative strength against the broader altcoin market.

Levels & Events to Watch Next

As of Wednesday morning, BTC was trading at $76,415. It began the day with an intraday high of $78,902. It then briefly dipped to a daily low of $73,111 before recovering to the current level.

Over the past week, the price of the coin has decreased by 14.2%. It fluctuated between $73,111 and $90,117.

A failure to maintain the current level could lead to a decline towards $73,000. Following this, it may revisit the $71,200 and $70,050 zones, potentially dipping into the $69,000 range.

Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: TradingView

At the same time, Ethereum was trading at $2,281. Similar to BTC, ETH experienced higher prices earlier in the day, reaching a high of $2,326. It then fell to an intraday low of $2,117 before rising to $2,324 and correcting downwards.

Additionally, ETH has decreased by 24.2% over the past week. It traded within the $2,120–$3,034 range.

If the pullback persists, ETH will revisit the $2,100 level, followed by $2,030, and $1,950.

Ethereum (ETH)24h7d30d1yAll time

Moreover, the sentiment in the cryptocurrency market has further plunged into the extreme fear zone with the latest decline.

The crypto fear and greed index is currently at 14, down from 17 observed yesterday. This marks the lowest level since late November 2025.

Sentiment reflects the market’s instability and volatility, along with increasing overall uncertainty. The minor price increase observed yesterday did little to alleviate fear among market participants.

ETFs Post Mixed Picture

While the week began with positive flows, US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) shifted back into negative territory on Tuesday, recording outflows of $272.02 million. The total net inflow has decreased to $55.3 billion.

Out of the twelve ETFs, one reported positive flows, while seven experienced outflows. BlackRock received $60.03 million on 3 February.

Conversely, Fidelity experienced the highest negative flows with $148.7 million, followed by Ark & 21Share’s $62.5 million.

However, US ETH ETFs broke a brief streak of negative flows with minor inflows of $14.06 million on Tuesday. The total net inflow increased slightly to $11.99 billion.

Among the nine ETH ETFs, four recorded inflows and two noted outflows. BlackRock leads the positive flows with $42.85 million, while Grayscale Mini Trust follows with $19.12 million.

Simultaneously, Fidelity released $54.84 million, followed by VanEck’s $2.47 million in negative flows.

Meanwhile, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest continued its purchasing activity during the market downturn. Its ETFs acquired approximately $3.25 million of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, along with $2.4 million of Circle Internet Group, according to a filing. Additionally, Ark purchased around $3.5 million of Bullish and $630,606 of Coinbase.

In relation to this, Bitmine chairman Tom Lee responded to criticism regarding the company’s Ethereum treasury strategy. Comments suggested the company was holding unrealized losses and creating future selling pressure.

Lee, however, countered that paper losses are common when a public entity is structured to mirror the ETH price throughout a complete market cycle. The company’s goal is to outperform over time rather than attempt to smooth out drawdowns.

These tweets miss the point of an ethereum treasury:
– BitMine is designed to track the price of $ETH
– outperform over the cycle (think up ETH)
– crypto is in a downturn, so naturally ETH is down$BMNR will see “unrealized” losses on our holdings of ETH during these times:
-… https://t.co/VpoNjAnJdC

— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FSInsight.com (@fundstrat) February 3, 2026

Quick FAQ

1. Did crypto move with stocks today?

The cryptocurrency market experienced a pullback over the past 24 hours. Additionally, following a sharp increase, the US stock market concluded the Tuesday session with a decline. By the end of trading on 3 February, the S&P 500 was down 0.84%, the Nasdaq-100 fell by 1.55%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.34%.

1. Is this drop sustainable?

In the absence of a solid foundation that would enable the market to recover, prices are likely to trend downward. Based on current indicators, price declines are expected to continue, at least in the short term.

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