Bitcoin down, Altcoins bleeding harder, but traders not panicking yet

Heavy losses are hitting altcoins as Bitcoin weakens, but traders appear to be waiting rather than rushing to get out of the market.

Bitcoin (BTC) slid towards the $85,000 zone during Monday’s global trading session, sending most of the crypto market down as risk appetite diminished.

The pullback was sharp enough to punish altcoins, but data from social and on-chain trackers shows traders are more cautious than fearful, suggesting the condemnation has not yet been completely broken.

Market sees broad declines

At the time of writing, BTC had fallen around 3.6% over the past 24 hours and was hovering around $87,000, according to market data. shared from Santiment. Ethereum (ETH) had fallen even harder, falling more than 6% to just above $2,900, while the total cryptocurrency market cap fell an estimated $140 billion within hours.

Several altcoins also experienced the sell-off. Santiment’s Dec. 15-16 market snapshot showed a sea of ​​red across large- and mid-cap tokens, with ASTER down about 12%, ENA down 9%, SUI down 8%, and HYPE down 7%, being some of the biggest decliners of the day.

According to analytics firm Glassnode, the movement extended a pattern where capital appears to be concentrating in Bitcoin while most other crypto sectors have lagged in their performance over the past three months.

What stood out, however, was the behavior and not just the price. Santiment’s data shows that Bitcoin social chatter increased by more than 40% in a single day, while Ethereum notifications rose almost 75%. According to the platform’s analysts, such jumps usually appear near short-term extremes, when traders argue loudly during declines.

Nevertheless, other on-chain indicators and social sentiment have not yet shown classic signs of a market bottom, such as spikes in DeFi liquidations or extreme fear, suggesting the downtrend could continue.

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Stress increases, but panic signals remain absent

Market watchers have offered several explanations for the sell-off. For example, a December 16 analysis linked this to delayed US legislation on the structure of the crypto market and the positioning of heavy derivatives around the $85,000 strike.

Elsewhere, veteran trader Peter Brandt warned in writing on December 15 that Bitcoin’s longer-term chart structure resembles previous cycle tops, although he emphasized that historical comparisons are not predictions.

Yet signs of forced sales are scarce. On-chain statistics show unrealized losses increasing but not peaking, while ETF flows and currency balances suggest holders are waiting rather than rushing to exit the market. Even Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin buying earlier this month didn’t do that activated According to Santiment, there is broader tension in the market.

For now, market players appear to be keeping a close eye on the flagship cryptocurrency’s ability to defend $85,000, and until leverage diminishes or sentiment turns sharply negative, the current decline looks more like building pressure than a full capitulation.