The cryptocurrency market saw a sharp downturn in the last 24 hours

News that the Nigerian government charged major exchange Binance, alleging it facilitated money laundering, appeared to trigger the move.

The cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp downturn in the last 24 hours, largely triggered by news of the Nigerian government charging major exchange Binance with facilitating money laundering.

This development sparked evident fear among traders, leading to significant selloffs, increased volatility, and over $253 million in liquidated long positions across derivatives markets within that 24-hour period.

Several top tokens, including KAITO, EIGEN, IP, and the TRUMP meme coin, dropped more than 10% following the news, contributing to the broader market decline. Reflecting this shift towards risk-off sentiment, the total crypto market capitalization fell towards $2.95 trillion.

Bitcoin dominance, meanwhile, climbed to nearly 58% as investors seemingly sought relative safety in Bitcoin amid the volatile conditions. The market’s cautious mood was also captured by the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which rested at 44, indicating “Fear” as the prevailing emotion among participants.

Which Large-Cap Tokens Felt the Pressure?

The regulatory news involving Binance sent negative ripples across several higher-profile altcoins. KAITO dropped 12.40% over 24 hours, trading around $1.13 and extending its weekly loss past 18%. Its market cap subsequently fell to $273 million.

Eigenlayer (EIGEN) saw a similar decline, down 11.11% to $1.05, bringing its market cap to $257 million. Story (IP) slid nearly 9% to $5.28, despite maintaining a larger market cap exceeding $1.35 billion.

The TRUMP token also dropped 8.86% to $10.50, marking its worst recent daily performance, though its market cap held above $2 billion.

Small Caps Buck the Trend: TUT, VIDT, AL Post Gains

Despite the broad selloff hitting larger tokens, a handful of small-cap assets managed strong positive gains during the same period.

Tutellus ($TUT) surged 131% to $0.0137, albeit with low trading volume. VIDT DAO ($VIDT) rose 44.5% to $0.0194, driven by bullish investor sentiment and strong volume near $37 million.

ArchLoot ($AL) gained 25.9%, now trading at $0.1231, while Layer3 ($L3) soared 20.1% to $0.128. CARV ($CARV) also saw solid movement, climbing 18.6% to reach $0.4669. These gains indicate continued investor interest in low-cap opportunities even during market instability.