Crypto Market Cap Drops to $2.93T, Analysts Warn of 20% Further Losses

The Cryptocurrency market capitalisation has just plumbed the depths to $2.93 trillion – a figure which is only comparable to the lowest point we saw way back in April, and that’s wiped out almost all of this year’s gains to boot. This represents about a 14% drop in value year-to-date, with the bad news being that it’s also down about a third from its early October peak of $4.4 trillion.

The market has been stuck in a rut since March 2024, spending most of its time teetering between a ceiling of $2.5 trillion and record highs. We briefly saw it dip back to that $2.5 trillion mark in April, only for it to rebound to a record high before crashing back down.

• Market cap fell to $2.93 trillion late on Thursday, says CoinGecko.

• Analysts point to a combination of macroeconomic strains, risk-averse investors, and the inevitability of market corrections as the main culprits.

• A lot of people are convinced we’re already deep in a bear market.

🚨TOTAL CRYPTO MARKET CAP HITS 8-MONTH LOW

Crypto market cap briefly fell to $2.93 TRILLION, its lowest since April 9 ($2.5T), erasing all 2025 gains as short-term sentiment turns bearish. pic.twitter.com/BHapNfnYBb

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) December 19, 2025

Short-Term Pain Expected

Market analysts are on high alert for the moment, what with all the uncertainty surrounding the Bank of Japan’s recent rate hike to 0.75% – the highest in 3 decades. Michaël van de Poppe of MN Fund is warning that Crypto has more short-term drops ahead before it stabilises.

Bitcoin did respond slightly to the Bank of Japan’s move, edging up to $87,821, but van de Poppe says we could see a full-blown “capitulation” phase within 24 hours, which could trigger a 10-20% drop in altcoins.

• It’s looking more bearish by the day.

• Liquidity pressures & macroeconomic uncertainty are weighing heavily on the market sentiment.

• Traders are bracing for volatility across markets in the coming days.

Pullback Offers Strategic Buying

Even though things are looking grim, a few analysts say the downturn actually presents a great opportunity to pick up some fundamentally strong projects. Nick Ruck of LVRG Research points out that volatility always provides opportunities for long-term accumulation – especially as Institutional interest continues to grow.

Retail traders are almost entirely cautious at the moment – according to Santiment, social commentary is dominated by fear after a brief spike to $90.2K, then slumping to $84.8K. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at a very low 16, indicating “extreme fear,” and has been below 30 since November.

• Extreme fear could actually signal an upside for patient investors.

• Historically, the market tends to move in the opposite direction of Retail sentiment.

• Strong projects may be attracting institutional investment despite all the short-term drops we are seeing.

This whole situation is a critical juncture for Crypto: short-term volatility and macro risks are currently stealing the headlines, but for patient long-term investors, strategic positioning during these fear-driven downturns may be a great way to capture significant gains as the market matures.