- As DeepSeek became more popular and surpassed rivals like ChatGPT to be among the top-rated free apps on Apple’s App Store, it triggered a wave of reaction that has seen the crypto market bleed
- CoinGlass data has revealed that the market crash has cost the crypto market traders some fortunes as $864 million in positions were wiped out
- Fartcoin has crashed by 25.31% in the past day and was trading at $0.9613, with a market of $960.32 million, down 25.43%
The newly released China-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) app, DeepSeek, has rattled the global crypto market, especially AI and big data coins.
Just as DeepSeek became more popular and surpassed rivals and already-established AI apps like ChatGPT to be among the top-rated free apps on Apple’s App Store, it triggered a wave of reaction that has seen the crypto market bleed.
The world’s largest coin based on market capitalisation, Bitcoin, crashed to below $100,000 for the first time since President Donald Trump of the United States assumed office. Early today, the coin traded at $97,906 before appreciating to $101k. At the time of writing, it was trading at $99,656, down 5.07% in the past day, with a market cap of $1.97 trillion, down 5.08%. The volume of trade, however, increased by 290.16% to reach $77.23 billion.
The section of the crypto worst hit by DeepSeek’s increasing popularity is the AI coins section: a coin like Filecoin has lost 10% of its market cap (dipping to $2.84 billion) and was trading at $4.56, down 10.04%; Fartcoin has crashed by 25.31% in the past day and was trading at $0.9613, with a market of $960.32 million, down 25.43%. Also, Onyxcoin has crashed by 31.98% and was trading at $0.02938, as of the time of writing, with its market cap down by 32.52% to $898.27 million. Onyxcoin’s 24-hour volume of trade has also crashed by 31.34% to $1.05 billion. Render, on the other hand, has declined by 12.86% to $6.07 in the past day, while its market cap declined by 12.83% to $3.14 billion, according to Coinmarketcap data.
According to Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, per Cointelegraph, “The hype around DeepSeek and broader volatility in the US AI market has spooked investors, leading to a flight to safety.” Kan added, “With the next Federal Reserve meeting approaching and expectations of no rate cuts, the market is pricing in a more hawkish tone, adding to the cautious mood.”
CoinGlass data has revealed that the market crash has cost crypto traders some fortunes as $864 million in positions were wiped out.
“Some derivatives who put bullish position on margin got called,” said Justin d’Anethan, head of sales at token launch advisory firm Liquifi, per Cointelegraph.
“The scramble for downside protection suggests traders are bracing for further chop. With no major catalysts until this week’s [Federal Open Market Committee], the market is likely to hover in this range as it waits for fresh policy cues,” he added.
The global crypto market cap has sunk 5.48% to $3.4 trillion over the last day and the total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours shot up by 151.80% to $193.59 billion. The total volume in DeFi was $12.45 billion, 6.43% of the total crypto market’s 24-hour volume. The volume of all stablecoins has reached $176.06 billion, which is 90.95% of the total crypto market 24-hour volume.
How Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped for BTC ransom, released
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that on January 22, 2025, rumours spread that David Balland, the co-founder of Ledger, a cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer, had been kidnapped for Bitcoin ransom. The rumours caused panic about his safety and those close to him.
The rumour also sparked a flurry of reactions. Journalist Grégory Raymond later wrote around mid-morning New York time that Ledger co-founder Éric Larchevêque said, “Eric is safe. It’s the only thing I can communicate at the moment. I’m in the process of checking the information.”
