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Stocktwits Crypto Data Dive - Week 42

Welcome to the Stocktwits Crypto Data Dive for Week 42 of 2026! 📊

In this issue, we'll dive into the data to keep you informed about the progress of the overall crypto market and shine a spotlight on emerging and established trends.

What You’ll Find In The Stocktwits Crypto Data Dive has three main objectives:

  1. Total and Altcoin caps, stamped with YTD moves and the gap to ATH.

  2. Seven-layer market-cap recap (TMC ex-stables, ex-top-50, and five more flavors).

  3. Crypto Index Performance covering 12 indices.

  4. The Liquidation Station boards the train with 30-day totals plus a 7-day heatmap for maximum schadenfreude.

  5. Market Heatmap, Social Volume Heatmap, Active Address Heatmap.

  6. ETF scorecards for BTC and ETH still tracking 7- and 30-day flows.

So, without further delay, let's jump right into the data from week 42 and explore its intriguing insights! 🚀

CRYPTO
Crypto Market Cap Update

What is the broader trend within the crypto market? The simplest way to track this is by using three market cap charts. So let's see what we got. 🔭

*the price levels and performance values may be very different from what you read in your mailbox vs. what's happening in the live market. This is especially true when crypto faces a new bull or bear run. 

Total Market Cap

  • All-Time High Close: $4.22 trillion

  • YTD: -7%

  • From ATH: -35%

Crypto Total Market Cap, daily close, Aug 2025 to Oct 15, 2026

Click to enlarge.

Altcoin Market Cap

  • All-Time High: $1.73 trillion

  • YTD: -9%

  • From ATH: -38%

Crypto Total Market Cap Excluding BTC, daily close, Aug 2025 to Oct 15, 2026

Click to enlarge.

CRYPTO
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CRYPTO
Stocktwits Crypto Index RRG

Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) help us visualize how a currency or sector performs compared to a benchmark - in this case, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY). Think of the four colored sectors as stages in a race:

  • Leading Quadrant (green) - You're a champ! 🏆 You're ahead of everyone else, and the crowd is cheering. But watch out; you might be overdoing it.

  • Weakening Quadrant (yellow) - You're slowing down 😓 and losing your lead. Maybe you're a bit demoralized because your biggest fan didn't show up. You're now in the middle of the pack.

  • Lagging Quadrant (red) - Disaster strikes! 😱 You're injured, exhausted, or just made a big mistake. You're now in last place, and it's a sad scene.

  • Improving Quadrant (blue) - Time for a comeback! 💪 Your motivation returns, the music swells, and you're picking up speed. You're back in the middle, catching up with the leaders.

Analyzing the RRG Examples 

Example 1: Rapid Rotation
- If an instrument moves quickly through all four quadrants, it could indicate high volatility or erratic behavior. Traders may want to be cautious or use appropriate risk management strategies in such cases.

Example 2: Stuck in the Middle
- An instrument that remains close to the center of the RRG might be in a consolidation phase, lacking a clear trend or momentum. Traders might wait for a decisive move before entering a position.

Example 3: Consistent Leader
- If an instrument stays in the Leading Quadrant (top right) for an extended period, it could signify a strong, sustained uptrend. Traders might consider buying opportunities or riding the trend.

Example 4: Slow Recovery
- An instrument that gradually moves from the Lagging Quadrant (bottom left) to the Improving Quadrant (blue) and eventually to the Leading Quadrant (green) could indicate a slow but steady recovery. Traders might look for potential reversal or bottom-fishing opportunities.

The GIF below shows the past 21 days of movement on the RRG.

The GIF below shows the past 13 weeks of movement on the RRG.

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CRYPTO
Weekly Total Market Cap (TMC) Performance

Index

Value

Weekly Performance

TMC Excluding BTC and ETH

$785B

-1%

TMC Excluding BTC and Stablecoins

$801B

-1%

TMC Excluding BTC, ETH, and Stablecoins

$503B

-1%

TMC Excluding Stablecoins

$2.45T

-0.1%

TMC Excluding Top 10

$227B

-0.5%

TMC Excluding Top 50

$49B

+2%

TMC Excluding Top 100

$7.4B

-1%

CRYPTO
Weekly Crypto Index Performance

Index

Weekly Performance

AI

+5%

Decentralized Finance

+0.3%

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure

-0.4%

Exchange Tokens

-1%

Layer 1

-0.1%

Meme

-1%

Proof-Of-Stake

-1%

Proof-Of-Work

+1%

Real World Asset Tokenization

-2%

Rehypothecated

-1%

Smart Contracts

-1%

Stablecoins

-1%

CRYPTO
Liquidation Station 😱

Interested in how much has been flushed out of leveraged long and short positions? Who’s getting hurt the most? This is the best place to get an idea of how leveraged positions are doing. 🔴

30-day Total Liquidations 📆

What You’re Looking At

  • Green bars above zero = longs blown out because price fell.

  • Red bars below zero = shorts blown out because price ripped.

  • Left-hand scale is U.S. dollars (millions); the dashed line near the top sits at $1B.

30-day Total Crypto Liquidation Chart - Click to enlarge.

  • September 17 - Short liquidations expand sharply into roughly the $500M-$600M area as bearish leverage starts getting squeezed.

  • September 20 - The largest short wipe of the period: $924.80M in shorts liquidated. BTC strength turns crowded bearish positioning into forced buying.

  • September 22 - September 23 - Long liquidations jump back toward the $400M-$450M area as price retraces. Late longs get their customary welcome package.

  • September 27 - Another sizable long flush around $400M+, showing leverage had already rebuilt less than a week after the short squeeze.

  • October 6 - October 7 - The major reversal in positioning. Long liquidations surge first toward roughly $650M, then October 7 wipes out $1.055B in longs, the largest long-side event of the window.

  • October 11 - October 14 - Long pressure remains elevated, with several $300M-$700M green bars while BTC struggles to regain momentum.

Quick read

What You’re Looking At

  • Rows = coins, columns = timestamps.

  • Color = head-count of forced liquidations (legend tops at 2,000).

  • A cell showing “BTC 1,600” means 1,600 separate BTC positions were liquidated.

Weekly Crypto Liquidation History Heatmap - Click to enlarge.

  • October 11 04:00 - October 11 20:00 - BTC and ETH begin lighting up hard, with SOL also strengthening. The first broad majors-led wave of the week.

  • October 12 12:00 - BTC and ETH push near the 2,000-trader ceiling, while XRP, ZEC, and NEAR also show elevated liquidation counts.

  • October 13 04:00 - Another dense cluster across BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and ZEC. Majors remain the ignition source.

  • October 14 12:00 - BTC and ETH flare again, with XRP, ZEC, SNDK, UNI, ENA, and PUMP showing stronger secondary activity.

  • October 15 04:00 - October 15 20:00 - One of the broadest stretches of the week. BTC and ETH stay hot while SOL, XRP, ZEC, NEAR, SNDK, UNI, and several mid-cap rows join.

  • October 16 12:00 - BTC, ETH, SOL, and ZEC remain elevated, though several lower rows begin cooling into the end of the window.

Some Interesting Insights 👓

  • Both sides got cleaned out within 18 days: $924.80M in shorts on September 20, then $1.055B in longs on October 7.

  • The October 9 - October 16 heat-map shows traders were already rebuilding leverage almost immediately after that billion-dollar long flush. Humans remain undefeated at forgetting last Tuesday.

  • BTC and ETH continue to transmit the initial stress, with SOL, XRP, ZEC, NEAR, and several higher-beta names amplifying the move.

  • Daily notional damage became more long-heavy into October even while trader-count heat remained broad.

  • Early-warning rule: when a billion-dollar long wipe is followed by repeated orange BTC/ETH heat-map columns, do not assume the cleanup is finished just because the first liquidation event was enormous.

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Author Disclosure: The author of this newsletter holds positions in AVAX, ADA, PUDGY, WLD, NEAR, INJ, LTC, LINK, ZEC, XLM, and FET. 📋