Crypto Crash Driven by Forced Seller, Glassnode Co-Founders Assert

Glassnode co-founders Jan Happel and Yann Allemann, under the @Negentropic handle, suggest that the current crypto downturn is driven by a systematic source rather than a broad market sentiment shift. They attribute the decline primarily to forced selling, particularly in Bitcoin, not an organic repricing of risk.

Main Observations

  • Momentum indicators show patterns inconsistent with natural markets, indicating straight-line dumping.
  • No macroeconomic stress or leverage shocks are present, pointing to mechanical selling forces.
  • Historical comparisons reveal extreme indicators without typical market distress signs like negative funding rates.
  • Relative strength in altcoins and ETH suggests no systemwide risk-off event.

Market Dynamics

  • Consistent selling patterns since October 10th imply a structured, rules-based selling approach.
  • Large selling observed on Binance aligns with specific time frames, suggesting a sophisticated entity.
  • Macro analyst Alex Krüger notes asymmetrical selling across venues, highlighting significant activity on Bitfinex.

Potential Short Duration

  • The speed of selling implies urgency, viewed as compulsion rather than strategic action.
  • Delphi Ventures’ Tommy Shaughnessy and Multicoin Capital’s Tushar Jain expect the forced selling to be short-lived.
  • Past experiences suggest that after such liquidations, the market might rebound sharply once the selling concludes.

Overall, the prevailing view is that the downturn is driven by a single, systematic seller, with expectations of a potential sharp rebound following the end of this constrained unwinding process.

Total crypto market cap