The cryptocurrency market has suffered a dramatic reversal, erasing the entirety of the massive rally that followed Donald Trump's victory in the November 2024 U.S. presidential election. The market has rolled back to levels last seen in November 2024, effectively wiping out roughly $2 trillion in value from its peak in October 2025.
The Total3 indicator, which tracks the total market capitalization excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), surged 91% after the November 5, 2024 election, climbing from roughly $600 billion to $1.16 trillion by December 2024. Today, it stands at $713 billion, matching its level from November 10, 2024. The broader total crypto market capitalization, which had climbed toward $4 trillion, has now fallen to approximately $2.3 trillion.
After reaching a December 2024 high, the market corrected before staging a final push to $1.13 trillion on January 18, 2025, just before Trump's inauguration. Prices moved sideways for most of 2025 before a failed breakout to a local high near $1.19 trillion in October. This triggered a broad market collapse that broke the upward structure, leading to a prolonged decline with no convincing recovery.
Bitcoin and Ethereum have led the pullback. Bitcoin fell more than 50% from its October 2025 peak to lows below $60,000 before recovering to around $68,000. Ethereum declined approximately 60% from its all-time high near $5,000, recorded in August 2025. While Bitcoin has shown relative resilience, both assets reflect a broader contraction in risk appetite.
Investor sentiment has deteriorated sharply. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index currently stands at 9, placing it firmly in the "extreme fear" zone. On February 5, 2026, the index briefly dropped to 5, the lowest reading of the current cycle. Historically, readings below 10 have occurred only three times: during the March 2020 pandemic crash, after the collapse of Terra (LUNA) in 2022, and now.
The magnitude of the drawdown reflects a significant shift in risk appetite and the unwinding of speculative excess built during the post-election rally, which was initially driven by expectations of a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. The reversal highlights how quickly macro expectations and positioning can change within digital asset markets.
