Market Contraction Intensifies as Bitcoin and Ethereum Face Mounting Selling Pressure

Regulatory Scrutiny Weighs on Sentiment

U.S. Representative Maxine Waters has called for an SEC hearing with Chair Paul Atkins over the handling of cryptocurrency-related legal matters, intensifying regulatory concerns that continue to dampen market confidence. This development coincides with broader market weakness and suggests ongoing policy uncertainty surrounding digital assets.

Crypto Market Retreats Amid Rising Risk Aversion

The cryptocurrency sector is experiencing considerable downward momentum across major indices. The total market capitalization has contracted by 2.79% within the last 24 hours, now standing at $2.96 trillion. Despite trading pressure, volume has expanded significantly—24-hour transaction volume reached $101.19 billion, reflecting a 34.46% jump. This paradoxical combination of falling prices with rising volume indicates strong liquidation activity.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index currently reads 29 points, signaling pronounced market apprehension and risk-off positioning among participants.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Post Modest Declines

Bitcoin ($BTC) is trading at $93.07K after a 2.31% pullback over the past day, with the asset maintaining a dominant 56.46% market share. Ethereum ($ETH), the leading alternative layer-1 blockchain, trades at $3.21K following a 3.43% correction, representing 11.76% of total crypto market capitalization.

Altcoin Rally Provides Bright Spot

While major cryptocurrencies retreat, select digital assets have posted dramatic gainers. Tesla ($TSLA), JoJoWorld ($JOJO), and Coloniume Network ($CLNX) lead today’s performance charts. Specifically, $TSLA surged 3768.01% to $0.2868, $JOJO climbed 913.31% to $0.2957, and $CLNX rallied 748.04% to reach $0.1225. These outlier moves, while notable, likely reflect lower liquidity trading dynamics rather than fundamental shifts.

DeFi Sector Sees Modest Liquidation, NFT Market Weakens Further

Decentralized finance total value locked (TVL) declined 1.08% to $117.475 billion. Leading DeFi protocol Aave experienced a 0.48% dip. Conversely, Brise Swap recorded exceptional 1-day TVL expansion, though such anomalies often indicate data aberrations or concentrated position changes.

The NFT secondary market has softened, with sales volume contracting 3.72% to $10.93 million. Top-performing NFT collection DMarket registered a steeper 48.67% decline, dropping to $1.98 million in trading value.

Development Update: Lighter Protocol Advances Infrastructure

In positive developments, Lighter—a decentralized perpetual derivatives platform—has introduced its $LIT token designed to bridge fragmented DeFi systems with traditional financial infrastructure, representing continued protocol innovation despite broader market weakness.