With the current global tensions, investors are investing in traditional assets like gold, oil and are moving away from crypto.
According to data analytics platform CryptoQuant, along with the entire crypto market, altcoins are also going through a difficult time. Around 38% of the altcoins are trading near their lowest-ever prices and this is worse than what we saw after the collapse of FTX, back in 2022. At that time, about 37.8% of altcoins were at similar levels. Even during the dip in April 2025, the number reached only 35%. This makes the current situation the worst decline for altcoins in this cycle.
The main reason here is that money is moving away from crypto. Investors are currently putting more money into things like stocks, gold and oil instead of cryptocurrencies. With global tensions rising, including the ongoing war situation and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, the prices of oil will be pushed higher. Since crypto is still considered to be risky people tend to pull out first when markets feel uncertain.
Altcoins are hit the hardest because they are more volatile than major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum. When fear increases, investors usually sell these smaller, riskier assets first.
Data platforms like CoinGecko and CryptoRank show that there is a clear trend and most of the altcoins are experiencing dips. The trading activity has been low, very few people are using crypto wallets and decentralized exchange (DEX) activity has slowed down as well.
All these signs indicate that the global tensions make investors more cautious and instead of taking risks, they choose safer or more predictable investment options.
After the FTX collapse, the crypto market took months to recover. Trust was broken, and regulations tightened. Today’s situation feels similar, but also different. While the market now has better technology like Layer-2 solutions and ETF inflows, the willingness to take risks is still low. That’s why altcoins are struggling even more.
The Altcoin Season Index is a metric that shows whether altcoins are outperforming Bitcoin. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index reflects 36 as of today, March 3, 2026. This means that most of the altcoins are still underperforming and the market is leaning more towards Bitcoin dominance.
According to the post by CryptoQuant, the current situation marks the largest regression in altcoins that has been seen in the current market cycle. A higher percentage of altcoins are near their lowest-ever prices than during previous downturns, including the aftermath of the FTX collapse.
This situation is also highlighting the fact that the selling pressure has become intense and that there is lack of liquidity. When this is compared to the earlier dips, the current phase shows deeper and more widespread weakness across the altcoin market, making it one of the toughest periods for these assets in recent years.
