Why Is Crypto Down Today? – August 26, 2025

The crypto market is down today again, 98 of the top 100 coins turning red over the past 24 hours. Overall, the cryptocurrency market capitalization has decreased by 2.4%, now standing at $3.87 trillion, moving away from the $4 trillion mark. At the same time, the total crypto trading volume is at $199 billion.

Crypto Winners & Losers

At the time of writing, all top 10 coins per market capitalization have decreased over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell another 2% and below $110,000, now standing at $109,971.

At the same time, Ethereum (ETH) is down by 5%, now trading at $4,414.

The biggest drop was recorded by Solana (SOL), followed by Dogecoin (DOGE). They’re down 7.5% and 6%, now trading at $187.85 and $0.2097, respectively.

The smallest fall in this category is BNB’s 1.2%, now changing hands at $862.

As for the top 100 coins, three coins appreciated, but only one above 1%. Cronos (CRO) is up 1.9% to the price of $0.1598.

The others are up below 0.5% each, meaning that they are practically unchanged.

On the other hand, Chainlink (LINK) dropped the most: 9.8% to $23.08.

It’s followed by OKB (OKB), which fell 8.4%, now trading at $172.

Meanwhile, economist and Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff argued that BTC would slip to about $75,000, maybe more.

He advised BTC holders to “sell now and buy back later.” He wrote that “given all the hype and corporate buying, this weakness should be cause for concern.”

According to Schiff’s prediction, Bitcoin could plunge to the level last seen on April 2025. “At a minimum, a decline to about $75K is in play, just below $MSTR’s average cost.”

The Path Ahead Could Be Bumpier Than Expected

Sean Dawson, head of research at onchain options platform Derive.xyz, commented that chances of BTC falling to $100,000 by end of September increased from 20% to 35%, while the chances for ETH retesting $4,000 in the same period surpassed 55%.

He stated that: “With macro pressure building and volatility spiking, markets are resetting fast, and the path ahead could be bumpier than many were positioned for.”

Notably, “it’s been a bloody start to the week for the majors,” said Dawson. There was over $900 million in liquidations across the market, with ETH and BTC seeing the most of that amount: $324 million and $209 million, respectively. Also, “nearly all were long positions forced underwater after a broad-based correction.”

“This sharp move appears to be the result of overleveraged positioning, particularly following ETH’s recent run-up, and an overnight dip in the S&P 500, which weighed on risk assets more broadly,” Dawson writes.

Subsequently, short-dated volatility has surged. Daily BTC volatility jumped from 15% to 38%, and ETH volatility went from 41% to 70%.

“These moves reflect rising trader anxiety ahead of key macroeconomic catalysts, notably US GDP figures due to be released August 28 and the unemployment rate to be released early September,” Dawson says.

Finally, there was also a shift in sentiment. As an example, Dawson gave the 25-delta skew turning negative for BTC and ETH, showing a preference for puts over calls. “This is the strongest demand for downside protection we’ve seen in two weeks. Traders appear to be bracing for potential retests of $4K for ETH and $100K for BTC,” he concluded.

Levels & Events to Watch Next

At the time of writing on Tuesday morning, BTC trades at $109,971. The coin saw another sharp plunge for the second day in a row. It went down from $112,815 to $109,214.

It’s now 11.4% away from its all-time high of $124,128.

Moreover, it’s possible that the price will continue to move towards the $105,000 level.

Ethereum is currently trading at $4,414. It too recorded a sharp decline today, from the intra-day high of $4,667 to the low of $4,342, before recovering very slightly.

Much like the general market, ETH still has room to drop further, at least for now. We’re now looking at a possibility of $4,300 and lower.

Moreover, the crypto market sentiment decreased further, barely staying within the neutral zone. The crypto fear and greed index fell from 50 yesterday to 43 today. This is the lowest point it’s been since late June.

The current level signals increasing fear moving into the market, as well as an increase in bearish sentiment.

Meanwhile, as of 25 August, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) broke the latest streak of outflows, with positive flows of $219 million.

Six funds saw flows, and all of them inflows. Fidelity is at the top with $65.56 million. It’s followed by BlackRock and Ark&21Shares, with $63.38 million and $61.21 million, respectively.

On the other hand, the US ETH ETFs saw more inflows on Mondays of $443.91 million.

Seven of the nine funds saw flows: six inflows and one outflow. Grayscale removed $29.17 million, while BlackRock added $314.89 million.

Meanwhile, Pantera Capital is preparing to raise $1.25 billion to transform a Nasdaq-listed company into “Solana Co.,” a public vehicle built to accumulate Solana (SOL) as a treasury asset.

At the same time, Kraken has held talks with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its plans to expand into tokenized markets.

Furthermore, B Strategy, a digital asset investment firm founded by former Bitmain executives, has announced the launch of a $1 billion BNB-focused treasury company.

Several Asia-based family offices, including those connected to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, have reportedly anchored the initial raise.

Quick FAQ

The crypto market fell over the past day, as did the stock market on Monday. By the closing time, the S&P 500 was down by 0.43%, the Nasdaq-100 decreased by 0.31%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.77%. The momentum that followed the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday has subsided since.

For now, yes. It may still continue. Positive macroeconomic and regulatory news may affect the price positively. Meanwhile, the markets will have to ride out the latest pullback until they’re ready for the next leg up.

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