Ethereum (ETH) lost over $3 billion in market cap in less than 24 hours, dropping from just north of $543 billion on September 21 to around $506.85 billion on September 22.
Trading at around $4,203 at the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is down 6.11% on the daily and nearly 7% on the weekly chart.
Far from an isolated incident, the loss comes as the global crypto market capitalization tumbles down to $3.89 trillion, down from a recent peak of over $4 trillion as a result of more than $1.5 billion in bullish positions being liquidated.
While Bitcoin (BTC) also dropped around 3% and trades below $113,000, altcoins took a harder hit, with XRP, for instance, wiping $11 billion in market value overnight.
Meme coins saw even steeper losses, as Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE) all dropped over 10%, with Elon Musk’s favorite crypto now down 14% on the week despite the recent record-breaking exchange-traded fund (ETF) debut.
Crypto market sentiment
The crash is largely the result of shifting global monetary policy. The recent Fed rate cuts resulted in a short rally, but a somewhat firmer U.S. dollar and renewed global market jitters created a lot of selling pressure, driving Treasury yields higher and sparking a gold rally in the process.
What’s more, investor sentiment also deteriorated sharply, with the Fear & Greed Index briefly sliding into “Fear” territory at 45, compared to 53 (“Neutral”) just last week. In turn, the score renewed the always-present concerns regarding September as a month of weakness.
Now, it appears that the market is focused primarily on the Fed, inflation data, and Bitcoin. Most notably, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak this week with nine other officials, with future cuts potentially on the table.
Not all are optimistic, though. Analyst Ted Pillows, for instance, believes “the dump will continue” if equities fail to deliver.
$BTC started this week with a dump again.
— Ted (@TedPillows) September 22, 2025
Usually Bitcoin bottoms the next day, but this time it's looking weak, as I have said before.
All eyes are on equities now; if they show any weakness, the dump will continue. pic.twitter.com/G3yUlA5Tdf
He also compared Bitcoin with gold, claiming the precious metal is flexing while the world’s largest crypto is struggling and “looking weak.”
Featured image via Shutterstock
