Altcoin Market Suffers $800 Billion Collapse as Traders Flock to Bitcoin: Report

Highlights:

• 10x Research reported $800 billion shifting from altcoins to Bitcoin and corporate holdings.
• Falling liquidity and investor confidence have left the altcoin market quiet and weak.
• Markus Thielen said traders now prefer Bitcoin-related firms, marking a lasting investor shift.

10x Research revealed in a Friday blog post that around $800 billion in retail funds have moved from altcoins to Bitcoin and corporate crypto treasuries. This shift has weakened hopes for an altcoin season and sparked concerns about the declining strength of smaller cryptocurrencies.

Investors Shift Back to Bitcoin as Altcoin Confidence Fades

10x Research mentioned in its latest report that liquidity, momentum, and conviction have all moved away from altcoins, making the market unusually quiet. The firm explained that investors are gradually returning to Bitcoin as confidence in smaller cryptocurrencies continues to decline. It added that many retail traders are now looking for other quick profit options instead of relying on altcoin trading.

The report said that this shift happened two weeks before altcoins dropped sharply on October 11, 2025, which erased almost $19 billion from the market and ended a short recovery in small tokens. The fall showed Bitcoin’s strong position, as investors moved away from riskier altcoins toward safer digital assets.

Crypto Retail Traders Missed Out on $800 Billion — and It Might Be Forever.

Altcoins have underperformed Bitcoin by an astonishing $800 billion this cycle — and retail investors are the ones left behind.

While social media continues to promise the next “alt season,” the data… pic.twitter.com/2JTl0MMi2i

— 10x Research (@10x_Research) October 24, 2025

South Korea’s Changing Impact on the Crypto Market

Historically, South Korea has played a major role in driving altcoin rallies, with local exchanges often recording over 80% of total trading activity in altcoins. That stands in contrast to global exchanges, where Bitcoin and Ether usually represent more than half of all trades. However, this pattern shifted last year. 

10x Research found that many South Korean investors redirected funds from crypto assets into stock markets and listed blockchain companies. As a result, the altcoin market lost much of the liquidity that once supported its growth. Between November 5 and November 28, daily crypto trading in South Korea averaged about $9.4 billion. That was higher than the $7 billion traded daily on the Kospi, the country’s main stock exchange. After that period, trading activity dropped sharply.

Markus Thielen, CEO and head of research at 10x Research, said the drop in South Korean crypto trading is a major reason altcoins are falling. Fewer buyers have led to lower prices, and this pattern has become the new normal. He added that traders are leaving riskier tokens and moving toward companies connected to crypto infrastructure, especially those holding Bitcoin. Thielen called this a “structural shift,” showing it is a long-term change in investor behavior.

Experts Agree Altcoin Market Faces Long Weak Phase

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen supported 10x Research’s view, saying altcoins are losing strength. In a recent X post, she said the “Black Swan” event on October 11 badly hurt the market. This made things worse for altcoins, which were already struggling.

Chen said retail traders now face poor chances of profit, and the alt season will not come in 2025 or 2026. She added that big investors have become more careful, as weekly trading on exchanges has dropped 20–40%. Many market makers also faced losses due to high leverage.

After recent conversations with several leading market makers and VC partners, I’ve gathered some harsh but real takeaways to share with everyone:

1/ Altcoins are fading
A year ago, I mentioned that VCs had largely stopped investing in early-stage Web3 projects—now it’s even… pic.twitter.com/5k8Se3obcZ

— Gracy Chen @Bitget (@GracyBitget) October 23, 2025