The last week of January 2026 has become rough for digital asset investors as the crypto market has slipped into another major crash. Driven by a series of factors, the industry experienced a sudden and brutal sell-off across multiple assets.
A massive liquidation shock ripped through the crypto market, wiping out nearly $1.74 billion in leveraged positions. This shocking event comes hot on the heels of a major crash in the gold and silver prices.
Crypto Market Heading to Another Major Crash?
The crypto market is showing signs of another major crash, mirroring the largest collapse experienced in October 2025. While cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, had slightly exhibited positive signals following the crash, they failed to maintain momentum. Now, their latest plummet has further added fuel to the fire, with speculations of a potential uptrend fading.
The industry has suffered a severe blow, losing over $240 billion as the total market cap fell from $3.04 trillion to $2.80 trillion. As of press time, the market has plunged again to $2.79 trillion, down by 6.2% in a day.
Bitcoin plunged by more than 6%, reaching $82,500, breaking several key support levels. Ethereum fell by 7.2%, hovering near the $2.7k level. Other top altcoins like XRP, BNB, SOL, DOGE, Cardano, and HYPE have also plummeted by notable percentages.
The market has also been hit with a massive liquidation event, with about $1.74 billion in assets wiped off across multiple crypto exchanges. This huge wave hit Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins, with investors forced to liquidate their positions after weeks of volatility.
CoinGlass data shows that about two-thirds of all liquidations came from long positions. This means that traders had been betting heavily on price gains before the drop. Bitcoin led the liquidations with roughly $786 million removed from exchanges. Ethereum saw liquidations at around $422 million. Total, BTC and ETH accounted for about 70% of the total liquidation event.
However, the wave didn’t just hit Bitcoin and Ethereum alone. Altcoins were also heavily affected by the sell-off. They made up about one-third of the total liquidation volume, with some seeing sharp percentage losses.
The crypto market is showing signs that the recent sell-off may be the start of something. Bitcoin’s drop to $82k has put it dangerously close to the critical $80k support level, while other major cryptocurrencies are following suit.
Gold and Silver Plunge Sparks Crypto Market Turmoil
The crypto market crash coincides with the significant fall in the price of gold, which had been trending steadily for weeks. But suddenly it took a hit, marking the most intraday move in over a decade.
Gold prices tumbled from around $5,600 to $5,100 in minutes, wiping out roughly $3 trillion in market value before bouncing back slightly. As of press time, gold is valued at $5,061, marking a significant plummet of 5.10% in a day.
Silver also dropped sharply, losing nearly 12%. Currently, silver is priced at $101.14, down by 11.6% over the past 24 hours. This downfall was followed by the significant plummets in the crypto prices and the subsequent liquidation event.
