The cryptocurrency sector is currently experiencing one of the most intense sell-offs in its history.
Data from blockchain analytics reveals that February 5th will be remembered as a day of significant losses for digital asset investors.
According to CryptoQuant, a leading analytics company, traders suffered realized losses amounting to an astonishing $3.2 billion within just 24 hours.
A Significant Sell-Off Event
This indicator measures the net dollar value of all coins transferred on-chain relative to their last transaction price.
The large red bars on the chart represent periods when investors predominantly sold their holdings at a loss.
In the past week alone, daily realized losses have averaged around $2.3 billion across the market.
An analyst noted that this level of loss ranks among the top three to five most severe downturns ever recorded in crypto history.
The data visualization allows us to compare this recent spike with Bitcoin’s most notorious crashes over time.
The highest red spike corresponds to May 2021, triggered by China’s mining ban which caused Bitcoin’s price to plummet from $60,000 down to approximately $31,000.
Another major cluster relates to the Terra/Luna and Three Arrows Capital collapse—a credit crisis that forced large institutions into selling assets at heavily discounted prices.
The FTX collapse also created a notable surge in sell-offs; during this psychological capitulation event, Bitcoin dropped sharply down toward $15,000.
This February 2026 incident visually resembles June 2022’s deleveraging episode in terms of scale and impact on prices.
Is Further Decline Expected?
Despite how severe these losses are already, some experts warn that cryptocurrency holders may still face more challenges ahead. Standard Chartered has issued a warning indicating potential for deeper market corrections soon.
The bank projects Bitcoin could fall as low as $50,000 while Ether might decline further toward around $1,400 levels if bearish trends continue unabatedly.
Kendrick highlights several macroeconomic factors raising caution flags: weakening U.S. economic conditions combined with postponed risk reductions and ongoing ETF outflows could collectively drive crypto valuations lower moving forward.