Major altcoins fell sharply on January 29, with Dogecoin, XRP, and Cardano sliding to their lowest prices since 2024 as Bitcoin extended its decline below $84,000. The move highlighted continued underperformance among alternative tokens during periods of market stress.
Dogecoin dropped about 8% over 24 hours, while XRP fell roughly 7%, erasing a large portion of gains recorded during last year’s rally. Cardano, Litecoin, Stellar, and Hedera also posted losses of 5% or more, reflecting broad-based selling across large-cap altcoins as liquidity tightened and risk appetite weakened.
The downturn comes alongside heavy liquidations in derivatives markets, with more than $1 billion in positions closed over the past day, largely driven by long positions. At the same time, uncertainty around US digital asset legislation has added to market caution, reinforcing bitcoin’s relative resilience compared with higher-beta altcoins.
