Crypto markets slid sharply Wednesday as investors moved to the sidelines amid a broad risk-off mood, with several major altcoins leading the downturn. The sell-off appears to be driven largely by forced selling and liquidation cascades rather than sudden changes in fundamentals, analysts say.
Zcash, BNB and Sui were among the worst performers, falling more than most of the broader market as leveraged traders faced margin calls, according to market data obtained by CoinMarketCap. The scale of the liquidation pressure suggests that the market is currently in a deleveraging phase, where rapid price declines trigger forced selling that then feeds back into further declines.
Zcash’s weakness has been especially pronounced. A report obtained by Decrypt showed that privacy coins, including Zcash, were among the biggest losers in the latest sell-off, a pattern that often signals broader risk aversion in the crypto sector. The same report also noted that the market slump has accelerated in recent days, with Zcash under particular pressure.
Further underscoring the liquidation-driven nature of the drop, BeInCrypto reported that Zcash has fallen sharply since early February and is now facing heightened liquidation risk. That aligns with the broader market data obtained by CoinMarketCap, which shows a spike in liquidations across mid-cap tokens.
Industry analysts say the current environment reflects a return to caution after a period of speculative rallies, with traders rotating out of higher-risk assets and back into Bitcoin and stablecoins. If the liquidation wave continues, the market could see more downside in tokens that rallied aggressively in recent weeks.
