38% of altcoins near all-time lows, worse than FTX crash: Analyst
06.03.2026
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An estimated 38% of altcoins are now hovering near all-time lows, which is worse than the post-FTX market crash, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost.
Altcoin Apocalypse: 38% Are Nuked to All-Time Lows
The crypto altcoin market is in absolute shambles. Investor sentiment has cratered, and prices are still reeling from the October 2025 crash. According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, a brutal 38% of altcoins are now scraping their all-time lows. Let that sink in — it's even WORSE than the post-FTX meltdown period.
“For comparison, this metric reached 35% in April 2025 and 37.8% just after the FTX crash. This chart perfectly illustrates the current situation for altcoins. Investors remain cautious and continue to lose interest in altcoins.”
The market is “unfavorable” for risk-on assets, and crypto is the first to feel the pain. Liquidity is getting sucked out of alts and funneled into equities and commodities. Daily trading volume peaked at over $417 billion on Oct. 10, 2025 (the day of the historic crash). Now? It's limping between $49.4 billion and $268 billion. Ouch.
Examples of the carnage: Cardano’s ADA is hovering just $0.10 above its ATL of $0.17. Polkadot (DOT) hit an ATL of $1.13 in Feb but is up 33% from there. Polygon (POL) is trading about $0.02 off its ATL of $0.08.
Darkfost calls this the “largest regression” of the current cycle. But here's the twist: he says this bloodbath could be a massive buying opportunity for the brave. High risk, high potential reward.
Altcoin Social Activity? Drowned Out by Bitcoin
Mentions of altcoins on social media have plunged to two-year lows, per Santiment. Google search volume for “altcoins” is at a yearly low of 4 out of 100. The narrative is dead.
Jimmy Xue, co-founder of liquidity platform Axis, breaks it down: “Altcoins are suffering from a ‘liquidity drain,’ where even minor shifts in sentiment trigger outsized sell-offs.” Why? They lack Bitcoin's institutional support and “digital gold” halo.
- • Oversupply: Over 36.8 million tokens are fighting for scraps.
- • BTC ETFs: They're trapping liquidity in traditional finance, starving the altcoin ecosystem.
- • Sentiment Shift: The risk-off mood is hitting crypto first and hardest.
The Total3 metric (market cap of all crypto excluding BTC and ETH) has retraced to November 2024 levels. The altcoin season is officially in the deep freeze.
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