More than half of the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap are down following the biggest cryptocurrency sell-off in a year.
The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has decreased by $510 billion.
According to Binhdangg, author of CryptoQuant, more than 60% of the top 50 cryptocurrencies have lost all their gains in 2024 after the sell-off. He wrote in an August 6 post to X:
“Since Black Monday, 60% of the top 50 coins have lost all their gains and even suffered losses since early 2024.”
After the selloff, the price of Ether (ETH) briefly fell to $2,200, its lowest in five months. A loss of this psychological indicator could lead to more panic selling and downward pressure in the overall market.
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What’s causing the cryptocurrency market selloff?
The brutal cryptocurrency market sell-off is the result of a combination of macroeconomic and industry-specific factors.
On August 5, the Bank of Japan announced that it would raise interest rates from 0% to 0.25%.
Japan’s decision also had a direct impact on the U.S. stock market and Bitcoin price, as investors borrowed Japanese yen at low interest rates to purchase assets in the U.S. market.
Meanwhile, the top five market makers have sold a total of 130,000 ETH at today’s prices since August 3, worth $290 million, sending the price of ETH crashing from $3,000 to under $2,200.
Market makers include Wintermute, which sold over 47,000 ETH, followed by Jump Trading, which sold over 36,000 ETH, and Flow Traders, which sold 3,620 ETH.
The market maker’s selling of Ether had a significant impact on the Ether price decline.
Related: Bitcoin Price Drop Could Last for 2 Months – Analysis
Memecoins led by WIF and PEPE recorded the biggest losses.
Looking at the top 50 tokens by market cap, some of the most popular Mimecoins have seen the biggest losses this cycle.
On the weekly chart, the Solana-based Mimecoin Dogweed Hot (WIF) is the biggest loser, down over 41% over the past week and trading at $1.38 as of 8:37 AM UTC on Aug. 6, according to Cointelegraph data.
Frog-themed meme coin Pepe (PEPE) had the second-biggest weekly loss, falling more than 34% to $0.057781, down more than 53% from its all-time high recorded in late May.
Since Mimecoin has no intrinsic value, its price increase is mainly driven by social media hype and retail investor interest. As a result, Mime tokens are often the hardest hit during cryptocurrency market corrections.
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