Last updated on March 6th, 2026 at 04:42 pm
Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen, CEO of Into The Cryptoverse, said the sharp market drop on October 10, 2025, was not caused by a single event but by long-building structural pressure in the crypto market.
According to Cowen, tight global liquidity, weakening market breadth, falling participation, and a maturing Bitcoin cycle all aligned before the crash. When those pressures built up, the market’s weakness quickly surfaced.
— Benjamin Cowen (@intocryptoverse) February 19, 2026
Tight liquidity limited market strength
Cowen pointed to his firm’s Liquidity Risk Metric, which showed financial conditions remained tight for years after the 2020–2021 expansion. He said the 2024–2025 rally took place under restrictive liquidity, not loose conditions.
In past cycles, strong liquidity supported broad rallies across crypto assets. This time, capital stayed concentrated in a small number of assets. Cowen compared the recent setup to 2018–2019, when liquidity also contracted, and Bitcoin peaked before monetary tightening officially ended.
He noted that global net liquidity rolled over in a similar pattern. In both periods, Bitcoin advanced despite tightening conditions, but there was no major altcoin season.
Weak breadth and falling participation
Cowen also highlighted declining internal breadth. The Advance Decline Index for the top 100 cryptocurrencies has trended lower since 2021, showing fewer assets participating in rallies.
At the same time, social interest across major platforms fell compared with previous bull cycles. Unlike 2017 and 2021, retail engagement did not steadily rise during this cycle.
As liquidity stayed tight and new demand remained limited, capital focused mainly on Bitcoin. Bitcoin dominance increased while many altcoins struggled to gain momentum. When Bitcoin peaked in early October, that concentration effect faded. Without fresh liquidity or broad participation, altcoins fell sharply.
Cowen said the crash exposed weaknesses that had been building for years rather than creating new ones.
Meanwhile, Crypto market sentiment plunged to extreme lows in February 2026, creating what analysts at Matrixport describe as a potential “durable bottom” as selling pressure reaches exhaustion.
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