The crypto market continues to slide, and the smallest, riskiest tokens are being hit the hardest. In fact, the MarketVector Digital Assets 100 Small-Cap Index, which tracks the 50 smallest cryptocurrencies in a group of 100, fell to its lowest level since November 2020 on Sunday before recovering slightly. This drop happened as Bitcoin gave up the roughly 30% gain it had built up earlier in 2025 by October. Additionally, altcoins, which usually reflect how willing traders are to take risks, have been trailing far behind major tokens since early 2024.
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In past bull markets, small-cap tokens often surged because traders were eager for high-risk, high-reward bets. That changed last year after the U.S. approved Bitcoin and Ether (ETH-USD) ETFs, which drew most institutional money toward safer, large-cap coins. As a result, demand for smaller cryptocurrencies has become weaker. For instance, one ETF linked to Dogecoin (DOJE) that began trading in September hasn’t seen a single day of inflows since October 15, and Dogecoin itself has fallen 13% over the past month.
In addition, over the last five years, the small-cap index has fallen nearly 8%, while the large‑cap index has climbed about 380%. It is also worth mentioning that the overall crypto market is still recovering from the October 10 crash that caused $19 billion in liquidations and wiped out over $1 trillion in value across all tokens. Therefore, analysts say that investors need to be far more selective with their crypto investments, as the market’s appetite for risk fades.
Is Bitcoin a Good Buy?
Using TipRanks’ technical analysis tool, the indicators seem to point to a negative outlook for Bitcoin. Indeed, the summary section pictured below shows that six indicators are Bullish, compared to two Neutral and 14 Bearish indicators.
