Batchild

The crypto market sell-off deepened on Monday, with Bitcoin and most altcoins firmly in the red. Bitcoin slid to $75,000, while the total crypto market capitalization fell 4.4% in the last 24 hours to $2.55 trillion, reflecting broad-based weakness across the sector.
Altcoins suffered heavy losses, with some of the biggest laggards including River, Monero, Ethereum, Nexo, Chainlink, and Kaspa. Ethereum was among the hardest hit, plunging 10% in 24 hours to a low of $2,200.
Fear and Greed Index Signals Extreme Fear ⚠️
The ongoing crypto market crash coincided with a sharp drop in the Fear and Greed Index, which fell to 15, placing sentiment firmly in the extreme fear zone — its lowest level in over a month.

This surge in fear reflects widespread capitulation, as investors exit positions amid continued underperformance across digital assets. Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs recorded further outflows in January, extending a trend that has persisted for several months.
Market data shows that 24-hour liquidations exceeded $735 million, while open interest dropped 5% to $108 billion, signaling a pullback in leverage as traders reduce risk exposure.
Liquidations accelerated as exchanges force-closed leveraged positions. Ethereum trades worth $272 million were liquidated, while Bitcoin positions totaling $249 million were wiped out.
Kevin Warsh Nomination and Rising Macro Pressure 🏦
There are two major drivers behind the crypto market downturn this year. The first is political and monetary uncertainty following Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair
Warsh is widely regarded as a monetary hawk, having consistently opposed quantitative easing and criticized premature interest rate cuts. While Trump previously promised aggressive rate reductions — even floating rates as low as 1% — markets are skeptical that Warsh would follow that path.
This uncertainty has weighed heavily on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
Middle East Tensions Add to Risk-Off Sentiment 🌍🔥
The second major catalyst is growing concern over a potential Middle East conflict. Iranian leaders have warned that any U.S. attack could trigger a regional war, contributing to heightened geopolitical anxiety.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the U.S. is increasing its military presence in the region. Trump also faces pressure from prominent foreign policy hawks such as Lindsey Graham, Mike Pompeo, and Mark Levin, who have openly advocated a hardline approach toward Iran.
These developments have reinforced the perception that Bitcoin and altcoins are not acting as safe-haven assets, prompting further sell-offs during periods of global uncertainty.
Bitcoin Technicals Point to Further Downside 📊

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin’s outlook remains bearish. On the weekly chart, BTC has fallen below the key support level at $80,488, marking a breakdown from a bearish flag pattern.

Bitcoin is also trading below:
the Murrey Math Lines pivot level,the 50-week moving average, and
the lower boundary of a rising wedge formation.
These signals suggest that bearish momentum remains intact. If selling pressure continues, Bitcoin could slide toward the $50,000 support zone — a move that would likely trigger further downside across the broader crypto market.

Markets have been loud this week 📢. Precious metals punched through records 🥇, then gave back much of their gains, while major crypto tokens barely budged. That contrast is what has people talking 👀.
Gold’s Sudden Market Jump 🚀
According to posts on X by market commentators, gold’s capitalization rose by roughly $2.2 trillion 💰 inside a single trading session. That move pushed the metal into an eye-catching valuation that dwarfs many crypto assets.
That figure equals nearly 20 times the entire market cap of XRP, which sits close to $103 billion based on recent prices.

Why The Numbers Can Mislead ⚠️
Several traders replied that the headline number is a quirk of scale. Because the gold market is so big, even modest percentage swings create massive nominal changes.
This point was made repeatedly in replies to the initial posts. Market depth and the sheer size of holdings mean that price shifts are not always driven by fresh trillions of dollars flowing in or out.
For smaller assets, a much smaller pile of capital can push price sharply. That’s the key difference when comparing bullion to crypto.
Silver’s Rapid Reversal 🔄
Reports have disclosed that silver’s run was especially volatile. After a blistering ascent, silver fell sharply 📉, wiping away a large slice of its peak gains within days.
Such whipsaws show how quickly sentiment can flip when traders rush to lock in profits or cut losses. The move illustrates how headline statistics — peak valuations and sudden drops — can create a distorted sense of permanent change when markets are actually very fluid.

Crypto’s Position And The Mirror Math 🪞
XRP and Bitcoin did not match metals’ fireworks. Based on current figures, some commentators ran simple scenarios: if XRP matched silver’s percentage increase, its price would be several times higher than today; if Bitcoin mirrored gold’s surge, it would be far above current levels.
Those calculations are described as purely illustrative. Reports say they are mathematical exercises rather than forecasts, since many factors — token supply, investor appetite, regulation, and liquidity — will determine real outcomes.
Bitcoin, valued near $1.77 trillion at the same time, was also overtaken by gold’s one-day gain. The scale of the move stunned many 🤯, even those used to seeing large swings in commodities.

The raw math is hard to ignore: a small percent move in an enormous market turns into huge dollar figures fast 📊.

In the past few hours, $BTC has dropped below $80,000 📉 amid another wave of liquidations as January comes to a rather volatile close. Analysts at Kobeissi note there have been three notable liquidation events in the past 12 hours, resulting in a combined loss of $1.3 billion 💥.
Such developments, coupled with a very fearful market 😨 after last week’s price slump, have pushed Bitcoin below a key price level. According to the renowned market expert Burak Kesmeci, Bitcoin’s behavior towards this $80,000 price zone holds significant consequences for the market trajectory.

Bitcoin Slips Under ETF Realized Price As Downside Risk Grows ⚠️
In a recent X post, Burak Kesmeci outlines the technical and on-chain importance of the $80,000 price level to the $BTC market. Before Bitcoin’s recent breakdown below $80,000, the asset had twice retested this zone following the correction phase that began in early October 2025.
Each successful rebound from these retests reinforced $80,000 as a critical support level, with certain chart formations even hinting at potential trend reversal 🔄. This underscored the market’s technical sensitivity to this level before the recent loss. However, Kesmeci highlights an on-chain importance of the $80,000 price point in that it also functions as the cost basis of the Bitcoin Spot ETFs. Therefore, the recent price fall below $80,000 places a large cohort of institutional investors at risk of entering unrealized losses.
In January 2026 alone, the Bitcoin ETFs already witnessed massive levels of withdrawals, resulting in a total net outflow of $1.61 billion 🏦. However, these figures are likely to surge higher as sustained price decline below the ETF cost basis is expected to trigger a wide-scale, panic-driven redemption among investors. In addition to its on-chain and technical importance, Kesmeci also notes that $80,000 presently functions as the True Market Mean.

What Next For Bitcoin? 🔍
According to Burak Kesmeci, a bearish scenario would require a weekly close below the $80,000 support level. If confirmed, the analyst warns that bearish momentum could intensify, potentially driving Bitcoin lower toward $72,000, $68,000, and eventually $62,000 in sequence. This is because these levels align with notable volume profile clusters, representing potential areas where liquidity could accumulate.

Conversely, in a bullish scenario 📈, Kesmeci notes that a sustained rebound from current levels could shift momentum back in favor of the bulls. The first major upside hurdle lies at $90,000, followed by the 111-period Simple Moving Average (SMA111) near $95,000, which is described as a critical level for confirming a medium-term trend reversal.
A decisive break above the psychological $100,000 resistance would further strengthen the bullish case and signal a potential resumption of the broader uptrend 🚀. At press time, Bitcoin trades at $78502.06, reflecting a 5.53% loss in the past 24hrs.

India Budget 2026: Crypto Tax Data Shows Investors Paid Tax Even After Losses
New data shows a growing gap between crypto trading outcomes and tax liability. While high-activity traders contribute most of the TDS, thin profit margins mean both active and retail investors are facing liquidity pressure.
In FY 2024–25, investor results were almost evenly split, with 50.91% reporting net gains and 49.09% ending the year with net losses. Despite this, taxable capital gains rose to ₹3,722 crore, even though actual net profits were lower. Investors who collectively recorded ₹1,178 crore in net losses still paid tax on ₹180 crore of gains, as current rules do not allow losses to be set off.
February 1, 2026 06:51:22 UTC
India Budget 2026: Buybacks to Be Taxed as Capital Gains for All Shareholders
The government has announced a change in how share buybacks will be taxed. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that buybacks will now be treated as capital gains for all shareholders.
The move is meant to stop the misuse of tax benefits through buybacks. Promoters, in particular, will have to pay more tax on buyback income. Corporate promoters will be taxed at 22%, while non-corporate promoters will face a 30% tax.
The new rule aims to make buyback taxation more uniform and reduce tax loopholes.
February 1, 2026 06:14:23 UTC
India Budget 2026: India’s Crypto TDS Mismatch Leaves Traders Owed Crores in Refunds
India’s crypto ecosystem saw ₹511.83 crore collected as TDS in FY 2024–25, but new data highlights a growing mismatch between tax deducted and actual tax owed. KoinX users alone contributed ₹130.16 crore, or 25.43% of total collections, even though their final tax liability stood at only ₹91.64 crore. This resulted in an estimated ₹38.52 crore locked in excess TDS and potential refunds.
The imbalance appears widespread. Over 30% of TDS deductions exceeded traders’ final tax dues, while nearly half of all TDS-paying users ended the year with net capital losses. At the same time, trading activity remains highly concentrated, with less than 5% of traders accounting for 87% of total TDS collections.
February 1, 2026 05:31:02 UTC
India Budget 2026: New Data Fuels Calls to Reform India’s Crypto Tax Regime
As the Union Budget 2026 approaches, India’s crypto industry is calling for a more outcome-based tax framework, including rationalisation of the 30% capital gains tax, permission to offset losses, and a review of the 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on crypto transactions. These demands are supported by India’s Crypto Tax Story 2025, a new report by KoinX, which analyses anonymised data from nearly 7 lakh Indian crypto users in FY 2024–25 and shows how current tax rules often diverge from actual investor outcomes.
February 1, 2026 05:09:14 UTC
India Budget 2026: Crypto Rules Must Shift Beyond Tax and Enforcement,
Manhar Garegrat, Country Head–India at Liminal Custody, said India’s crypto policy needs to move toward market structure and sustainability, warning that current tax frictions are pushing compliant trading activity offshore. He urged Budget 2026 to rethink transaction-level taxes and consider a VDA transaction tax model to keep crypto activity onshore, transparent, and economically viable.
February 1, 2026 05:09:14 UTC
India Budget 2026: Will Crypto Take Center Stage?
Crypto and Bitcoin taxes are in focus today, with expectations of rationalisation and clearer rules rather than any expansion of the 30% levy, even as the government has not yet signaled formal changes.

The crypto market crash accelerated during the weekend, with $BTC moving below the key support level at $80,000 🔻 for the first time in months. It was trading at $78,678 on Sunday 📆, down sharply from its all-time high of $126,300 🚀➡️📉.
$ETH price crashed to $2,400 ⚠️, while $BNB fell to $770 🔥. The market capitalization of all tokens dropped by over 5.80% in the last 24 hours ⏱️ to $2.67 trillion . This article explores some of the top reasons behind the ongoing crypto crash 👇.
Crypto market crash happened after Trump nominated Kevin Warsh 🏛️
One of the main reasons behind the ongoing crypto market crash is that Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to become the next Federal Reserve Chair when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May 📅.
Warsh has recently supported the crypto industry 🪙. However, his support was likely because he really wanted the Federal Reserve Chairman job 🎯 as he has previously blasted the industry ❌.
The same is true with his views on interest rates 📊. In his recent interviews, he has come out in support of lower interest rates 📉. In reality, however, Warsh has always been an interest rate and inflation hawk 🦅.
He voted against interest rate cuts and quantitative easing policies in 2011 ⏳. Most importantly, he has always maintained his opposition to quantitative easing 🚫💰.
Therefore, analysts believe that Warsh will maintain a hawkish view 🦅 when he moves to the Federal Reserve just as Jerome Powell did ⚠️.

Soaring liquidations fuelled the crypto crash 💣📉
The other main reason for the crypto market crash is the soaring liquidations 🔥 and falling futures open interest 📉.
Data compiled by CoinGlass 📊 shows that the futures open interest dropped by 10% in the last 24 hours ⏱️ to $113 billion 💵.
At the same time, liquidations jumped by 348% 🚀 in the last 24 hours to over $2.5 billion 💥, the biggest increase in months ⛔.
Ethereum liquidations jumped to over $1.1 billion ⚠️, while Bitcoin rose to over $785 million 💣. Solana positions worth over $197 million 🌊, while XRP positions worth $61 million ❌ were liquidated.
These liquidations brought memories of October 10 🧠 when the crypto market experienced the biggest liquidation on record 📉. Positions worth over $20 billion 💀 were wiped out on October 10 when Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on China 🇨🇳⚠️.

Rising geopolitical tensions 🌍🔥
The crypto market crash is happening because of the rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran ⚔️. Trump has threatened to attack Iran soon 🚨 because of the recent protests in the country 🪧.
An attack on Iran would be bearish for the crypto market 📉 because of the impact on the energy market ⚡. Data shows that Brent, the global benchmark 🛢️, has jumped to $70 for the first time in months 📈.
The crypto market crash is also happening because Bitcoin’s role as a safe-haven asset has been debunked ❌🛡️. Instead, investors have moved to other safe-haven assets like the Swiss franc 🇨🇭 and gold 🪙, which have soared in the past few months 📈.

Bitcoin price technicals have contributed to the crash 📊⚠️

Technicals have also contributed to the ongoing crypto crash 🧩. The weekly timeframe chart above shows that the coin formed a rising wedge pattern 📐.
It also formed a bearish flag pattern 🚩, and moved below the 50-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA) 📉 and the Supertrend indicator 🔻. This pattern often leads to more downside ⬇️, which will lead to more downside for Bitcoin and the crypto market ⚠️📉.