Crypto Market Crash: BTC, ETH, XRP, HYPE Fall 3-10% Amid Unwinding AI Trade

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell sharply over the previous 24 hours as major digital assets declined. Today’s crypto market crash comes amid the strong unwinding of the AI trade in the Asian markets as Nikkei and KOSPI indexes fall 5-6% each. Top digital assets, including BTC, ETH, XRP, DOGE, and HYPE are down by 3-10%.

Crypto Market Crashes Amid Asian Market Drawdown

With today’s crypto market crash, the 24-hour liquidation has crossed a massive $437 million. As per the Coinglass data, the unwinding of the long positions alone amounts to $387 million. Ethereum (ETH) carries the most liquidations at $101 million, followed by Bitcoin at $93.77 million.

This major selloff and pressure in the crypto market came amid Asian equity markets extending losses during the July 17 trading session. This comes amid a major unwinding in the AI trade as AI-related stocks face a global selloff. A similar scenario is visible across semiconductor stocks with Advantest, SoftBank, Tokyo Electron, and Kioxia being the biggest losers.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 5.42%, South Korea’s KOSPI declined 6.37%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.98%, and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 1.64%. Investors are currently dealing with a mix of macro factors like inflation, earnings season, etc., and also some geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Japan’s stock market has now entered a technical correction, with the Nikkei falling more than 10% from its June record high. The decline has erased an estimated $400 billion in market value.

BTC, ETH Face Crash On Weekly Options Expiry

On July 17, the crypto market saw a $1.43 billion in options expiry with 19,000 Bitcoin options expiring, having a put-call ratio of 0.9 and a max pain point of $63,000. Similarly, 123,000 Ethereum options expired with a put-call ratio of 1.61 and a max pain point of $1,800.

With the Bitcoin price crash over 3% in the last 24 hours, it is still trading above the crucial support level of $60,000. BTC has been trading in the $60,000–$65,000 range for more than a month despite volatility in U.S. equities.

Open interest declined slightly as subdued market conditions limited trading opportunities. However, bullish short-term spreads have continued to gain traction, as per Deribit data.

On the other hand, the Ethereum options data shows a growing divergence with the put-call ratio rising to 1.61. This elevated put positioning highlights strong bull-bear disagreement. Thus, traders are undertaking a cautious approach with small bullish spreads amid broader market uncertainty.

Bitcoin Price Correction Might Not Be Over Yet

As said, the Bitcoin price is showing some strength in the range of $60,000-$65,000; however, market experts believe that the correction could be far from over. CryptoQuant analyst IT Tech questioned whether Bitcoin has already established a market bottom.

According to CryptoQuant, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of more than 500,000 BTC in 2024. In the year 2025, the accumulation dropped to 250,000 Bitcoins. However, the trend has reversed in 2026, with cumulative net outflows reaching roughly 120,000 BTC.

The analyst noted that spot ETF demand was one of the primary drivers of Bitcoin’s rally over the past two years. He believes that the reversal in institutional flows now represents a headwind for the market rather than a bullish catalyst.