Altcoin breadth on Binance has deteriorated dramatically, with a vast majority of tokens now trading below a widely observed long-term trend level, a sign of exhaustion that CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost frames as both a liquidity issue and a pricing issue.
In a post on Its headline states: “Liquidity crisis pushes 83% of altcoins into bearish trend,” arguing that most investors exposed to non-Bitcoin and non-stable assets are “now in significant difficulty,” particularly those still holding positions.
Altcoin breadth crumbles on Binance
Darkfost’s chart, titled “Altcoin Performance (Binance),” shows the percentage of altcoins below the 50-week moving average returning to historically stressed territory. In its latest reading, 83% of Binance altcoins are below that threshold, a sign that the weakness is not isolated to a handful of names but extends across the tape.
He also pointed out an even more extreme episode earlier this month. “Since the end of the bear market in 2023, a new record was set on February 7, with over 92% of altcoins on Binance trading below this key technical support,” he wrote, describing it as a post-2023 cycle bearish participation high.
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This is in stark contrast to conditions seen during previous bull phases. Darkfost noted that in March 2024 only 6% of Binance altcoins were trading below the 50-week line, and in December 2024 the figure was 7%. Outside of those multi-month windows, he added, at least half of altcoins remained below the threshold, behavior he characterized as significantly different from the amplitude dynamics of the previous cycle.
Darkfost framed the altcoin decline as inseparable from the Bitcoin trend and the macro context, suggesting that the market’s risk budget has tightened while the supply of altcoins has expanded.
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“The market continues to be driven by the movements of BTC, which has been in a bearish trend since October 2025 following an ATH of $126,000. Currently, BTC’s momentum remains very uncertain, with the price still hovering around 46% of its all-time high. Rising geopolitical tensions, particularly between the US and Iran, coupled with the Fed’s increasingly hawkish projections and tone expressed in the latest minutes of the FOMC, are making the current environment especially challenging for highly volatile assets like altcoins,” he wrote.
The chart itself marks BTC near the mid-$60,000 range, underscoring its broader point: in a regime where Bitcoin’s direction is unclear and macro inputs are hostile to duration and volatility, breadth in higher beta tokens can quickly deteriorate and then remain impaired.
Why the 50 week line is important
Darkfost highlighted the 50-week moving average as a long-term filter used by market participants to separate corrective phases from structurally constructive ones. When the majority of tokens settle below it, rallies tend to be narrower, selection pressure increases, and “alt-season” narratives become harder to sustain without a decisive change in liquidity conditions.
He attributed the current setup to “increased supply of altcoins across the broader crypto market, combined with still tight liquidity conditions,” a combination that can mechanically dilute marginal flows. In that environment, he argued, outperformance comes down less to broad beta exposure and more to understanding how market structure has changed.
At the time of this publication, the total crypto market capitalization, excluding Bitcoin, amounted to $943.46 billion.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
