The altcoin spectrum on Binance has deteriorated sharply, with the majority of tokens currently trading below widely-noted long-term trend levels, a signal of depletion that CryptoQuant contributor Dirkforst sees as as much a liquidity issue as a price issue.
Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc), in a post on His headline claimed that “83% of altcoins are bearish due to liquidity squeeze” and that most investors exposed to non-Bitcoin, non-stablecoin assets, especially those who still hold positions, “are currently facing significant difficulties.”
Altcoin breadth collapses on Binance
A Darkhost chart titled “Altcoin Performance (Binance)” shows that the percentage of altcoins below their 50-week moving average has risen to historically stressful territory. His latest reading shows that 83% of Binance’s altcoins are below that threshold, indicating that the vulnerability is not limited to a few stocks, but is spread across the tape.
He also pointed to an even more extreme episode earlier this month. “A new record was set on February 7th since the end of the 2023 bear market, with over 92% of altcoins on Binance trading below this critical technical support,” he wrote, describing this as the highest downside participation rate after the 2023 cycle.
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This is in stark contrast to the situation seen during the earlier rally. Dirkforst pointed out that in March 2024, only 6% of Binance’s altcoins traded below their 50-week line, but in December 2024, that number rose to 7%. Outside of these multi-month windows, at least half of altcoins remain below the threshold, a move that differs significantly from the breadth dynamics of previous cycles, he added.
Dirkforst said that altcoin drawdowns are inseparable from Bitcoin’s trends and macro context, suggesting that the market’s risk budget is shrinking while altcoin supply is expanding.
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“The market continues to be driven by BTC trends, which have been trending downward since October 2025 after reaching $126,000 ATH.Currently, BTC momentum remains highly uncertain, with the price still hovering around 46% of its all-time high. “Escalating geopolitical tensions, particularly between the US and Iran, and the Fed’s increasingly hawkish outlook and tone expressed in the latest FOMC minutes, are creating a particularly challenging environment for volatile assets such as altcoins,” he wrote.
The chart itself shows BTC hovering around the mid-$60,000s, underscoring his broader point. This means that in a situation where Bitcoin’s direction is uncertain and macro inputs are hostile to duration and volatility, the breadth of high-beta tokens could deteriorate quickly and remain impaired thereafter.
Why the 50 week line is important
Dirkforst highlighted the 50-week moving average as a long-term filter that market participants use to distinguish between corrections and structurally constructive periods. If the majority of tokens are below that, the rally tends to narrow, increasing selection pressure and making it difficult to sustain the “alt-season” narrative without a decisive change in liquidity conditions.
He said the current regime is due to “remaining constrained liquidity conditions and increased altcoin supply across the broader crypto market,” a combination that could mechanically dilute marginal flows. In such an environment, he argued, outperformance becomes less about broad beta exposure and more about understanding how market structure has changed.
At the time of writing, the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin was $943.46 billion.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart on TradingView.com
