On the evening of July 23, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn. Ethereum 
$2,374 dropped by 4% in the last 24 hours, reaching $3,565, while XRP saw a 12.7% decline to $3.05. BNB and Solana 
$87 also experienced losses of 5.3% and 9.5%, respectively. Despite this, Bitcoin 
$78,815 showed resilience, dropping only by 0.6% to 117,349 when compared to other major cryptocurrencies.
What’s Driving Crypto Declines?
Presto Research analyst Min Jung indicated there wasn’t a clear trigger for the downward trend, noting, “Ethereum is still up 7% weekly, and Dogecoin 
$0.099383 is up 12%. This pullback seems like profit-taking.” CoinW’s Chief Strategy Officer Nassar Al Achkar echoed this perspective, highlighting that temporary profit-taking, leveraged position liquidations, and altcoin rotation before upcoming ETF decisions have increased market pressure.
Jung mentioned that the fundamental market dynamics have not changed, with strong institutional treasury purchases continuing. Experts also pointed out that investors are closely monitoring earnings reports from major tech companies and macroeconomic data for further guidance.
Impact of Liquidation Pressure and Market Liquidity
Vincent Liu, CIO of Kronos Research, described the market decline as linked to chain liquidations and diminished market depth, adding that heavily leveraged long positions in fragile altcoins have been cleared.
According to Coinglass data, 940.81 positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with $168 million in Ethereum and $92.7 million in XRP long positions. Bitcoin saw $73.5 million in liquidations, with $57.4 million from long positions.
LVRG Research director Nick Ruck noted that with waning individual interest, altcoins remain under pressure, while investors are tracking geopolitical tensions, institutional ETF entries, and critical technical support levels. Analysts suggest that the market’s price movements combined with a need for a breather have increased short-term volatility.
