[PORTLAND] The altcoin casino blew up in spectacular fashion last week, and it’s not clear whether the gamblers are coming back.
The crash did not just hit Bitcoin. It vaporised entire ecosystems of speculative tokens that had promised generational wealth through viral memes, big-name branding, and blind faith in momentum.
Bitcoin fell 13 per cent after a fresh US-China tariff spat. But the damage was far deeper in smaller tokens, many of which fell as much as 80 per cent before a tentative recovery. Trump’s memecoin, promoted earlier this year by US President Donald Trump, fell 37 per cent on Friday (Oct 10), according to CoinMarketCap. World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token, also affiliated with the Trump family, plunged by a similar clip.
Of the US$380 billion erased, about US$131 billion came from altcoins, according to 10x Research – a sector built on thinner liquidity, speculative narratives, and day-trader hype.
The crash raises doubts about the future of the altcoin ecosystem. Traders and market makers see structural support for these tokens eroding, with fewer buyers and rising risk aversion. The episode, unprecedented in speed and scope, threatens to mark a decisive break from a go-go era when anonymous projects could spike 1,000 per cent with no rhyme or reason.
As researchers at Arca put it, casual observers watching global markets may have missed it. But “if you are a fully on-chain crypto degenerate trader, however, you witnessed armageddon”.
Altcoins encompass a broad swathe of digital assets, excluding Bitcoin and Ether. These include memecoins pegged to popular trends on social media, such as the shiba inu breed of dogs, a cartoon frog named Pepe and even a real-life hippo named Moo Deng.
These kinds of coins were hit hardest on Friday and early Saturday. The sell-off began as risk appetite across markets weakened, but altcoins fell harder due to their inherent fragility. Many are thinly traded, lack real buyer depth, and rely heavily on a small group of players to stabilise prices.
When selling pressure intensifies, those buyers often pull back, leaving tokens exposed to rapid price moves. Without strong fundamentals or sustained demand, price discovery tends to unravel quickly.
