Bitcoin and Ether Liquidity Recover One Year After the 10/10 Crypto Crash
Table of Contents
You might want to know
- How much have bitcoin and ether order books recovered since the Oct. 10, 2025, flash crash?
- Why does altcoin liquidity appear stronger when measured in tokens than in dollars?
Main Topic
One year after the largest liquidation event in crypto history, liquidity data point to a market recovering unevenly. Bitcoin and ether now have deeper order books than they did on the crash day and at the start of 2025 and 2026. Altcoins and spot trading activity, by contrast, remain weaker. The difference suggests that capital has returned more clearly to the largest cryptocurrencies, while many smaller tokens have not attracted the same level of market-making support.
The crash unfolded on Oct. 10, 2025, after bitcoin had set a record above $126,000. On the morning of the crash, bitcoin had edged back to $122,600. Hours later, it fell below $105,000. Much of the decline occurred within minutes during thin Friday evening (U.S. time) trading, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. More than $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in a single day.
To assess how market liquidity changed after that shock, CoinDesk Research compared order-book depth across major centralized exchanges on four dates: Jan. 1, 2025; Oct. 10, 2025; Jan. 1, 2026; and this week. Depth measures the dollar value of buy and sell orders resting near the current price. A deeper order book can generally absorb a larger trade before the price moves significantly. It is one way to evaluate whether liquidity has returned, although it does not guarantee that markets will remain stable during sudden volatility.
Bitcoin’s order book is deeper now than on each of the earlier comparison dates. On Oct. 7, about $11.7 million in buy and sell orders sat within 1% of bitcoin’s price. That was roughly 75% more than on crash day a year earlier. The comparable depth was about $9 million at the start of this year and about $6.9 million at the start of 2025.
The increase in bitcoin depth is not simply a consequence of a higher token price. Bitcoin is about one-third cheaper than before the crash, so the larger dollar value of nearby orders points to more capital being committed by market makers, rather than merely reflecting a more valuable coin. Much of the improvement is concentrated close to the current price, where market makers tend to quote most actively. At a wider distance of 5% from the price, depth is around $24 million—roughly where it stood in January 2025. (Bitcoin depth: CoinDesk data.)
Ether’s recovery is also substantial and, on some measures, stronger. Depth within 0.5% of ether’s price has more than doubled since crash day, reaching about $4.2 million. Within 1% of the price, depth has risen by about three-quarters to roughly $5.3 million, above both January readings. The data indicate that more orders are now available close to ether’s market price than at the comparison points earlier in the period. (ETH depth: CoinDesk data.)
“The majors’ deepening is real capital, not a price effect,” CoinDesk Researcher Saksham Diwan said. The comment captures an important distinction in interpreting liquidity data: changes measured in dollars can reflect both price movements and shifts in the actual amount of capital market participants are willing to place in the market. In bitcoin’s case, the reported gains occurred despite a lower price relative to the pre-crash level.
The rebuilt order books received an early test this week as crypto markets sold off. Between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, bitcoin’s 1% depth fell about 12%. Ether’s tightest measured band thinned slightly, although orders farther from the price increased. These movements show that depth can change quickly during a downturn, and that liquidity in one price band may behave differently from liquidity at another. A broader recovery therefore does not mean order books are fixed or immune to sudden selling.
Altcoins show a contrasting trend. In CoinDesk Research’s basket of altcoins, dollar-denominated depth was greatest on Jan. 1, 2025, and was lower on each subsequent date measured. At 5% from the price, depth is down about a third since the start of 2025, to around $2 million. At a closer distance of 1%, it has fallen by about a sixth. These figures indicate that the dollar value of available altcoin orders has steadily eroded rather than recovering alongside bitcoin and ether.
Measured in tokens rather than dollars, altcoin depth appears healthier: it peaked on Jan. 1 this year and has eased only modestly since. However, token-unit measures can give a misleading impression when prices are falling. If each token is worth less, a similar number of tokens represents less dollar value. Analysts said the apparent recovery in token terms was mostly due to falling prices, masking a steady decline in capital committed to altcoin order books. (Altcoin depth: CoinDesk data.)
Spot trading volume has also failed to return to crash-week levels. CoinDesk Research reported that weekly spot volume on centralized exchanges averaged around $279 billion over the four weeks to Sept. 27. That was nearly two-thirds below the $801 billion traded in the week of the crash. Weekly volume reached a low of around $135 billion in August and has doubled since, but it remains well short of the levels recorded around the crash. (Spot volume: CoinDesk data.)
These trends matter because order-book depth and trading volume describe related but distinct parts of market activity. Depth reflects the orders currently available near market prices; spot volume reflects how much trading has taken place over a period. Greater depth in bitcoin and ether may help those markets absorb ordinary trading more effectively, while subdued spot volume suggests that overall participation has not returned to its earlier peak. Neither measure alone can predict future prices or establish that another sharp liquidity shock will not occur.
For investors and market observers, the clearest message is the division between the largest digital assets and the wider altcoin market. Market makers appear to have returned more decisively to bitcoin and ether, while dollar-denominated altcoin depth has declined. The gap may be relevant to how different assets behave during volatile periods: thinner books can make it harder for large trades to be absorbed without a price impact. Still, the figures describe observed market conditions, not a guarantee about how any individual token will perform.
“A year ago, we wrote that liquidity was thin and fragmented, and that it was unclear where capital would rotate once the dust settled. We now have an answer: bitcoin and ether,” said Joshua de Vos, Research lead at CoinDesk. “Market makers have returned to majors, with liquidity above pre-crash levels, whilst altcoin liquidity continues to trend down as a whole. Beyond a select few alts, I expect this divergence to persist into next year as majors continue to dominate institutional interest and volumes.”
Disclosure & Policies: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet covering the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted principles intended to protect the integrity, editorial independence, and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets, and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
Key Insights Table
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin depth | On Oct. 7, about $11.7 million sat within 1% of the price, roughly 75% more than on crash day. |
| Ether depth | Depth within 0.5% more than doubled since crash day to about $4.2 million; 1% depth rose by about three-quarters to roughly $5.3 million. |
| Altcoin depth | Dollar depth at 5% from the price is down about a third since the start of 2025, to around $2 million. |
| Spot volume | Weekly volume averaged around $279 billion over the four weeks to Sept. 27, compared with $801 billion in the crash week. |
| Crash and liquidations | On Oct. 10, 2025, bitcoin fell below $105,000, and more than $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in a single day. |
Afterwards...
The year-after comparison suggests that liquidity has returned selectively rather than across the crypto market as a whole. Bitcoin and ether order books have strengthened in dollar terms, while altcoin depth and spot trading remain below their earlier levels. Future market conditions will depend on whether market makers continue supporting the major assets, whether broader participation grows, and whether liquidity spreads beyond a limited group of tokens. For now, the evidence points to a market in which the largest cryptocurrencies have recovered more convincingly than the rest.
Last edited at：2026/10/10
