Fund managers say altcoins in bear market since December 2024 as BTC drops over 20% in week

Bitcoin fell more than 20% this week before a partial rebound, with several crypto fund managers telling The Block on Feb. 9 the speed caught them off guard. Split Capital's Zaheer Ebtikar said almost no one anticipated such rapid panic selling, while others cited a swift sentiment shift, spiking fear gauges and heavy spot dumping that cascaded into liquidations. L1D AG co-founder Ray Hindi said many TradFi themes became overstretched in January, and the ensuing deleveraging transmitted into crypto, which he said still faces severe structural issues from the Oct. 10 liquidation event. Pantera Capital's Cosmo Jiang said non-Bitcoin tokens have been in a bear market since December 2024, calling the year-to-date pattern a rolling bear across most altcoins as risk pressure accelerated selling and forced traders who shifted to precious metals to sell crypto to meet margin; managers said expectations for altcoin outperformance remain low, and Wintermute Ventures' Joscha Kuplewatzky said the market looks late-cycle, making broad altcoin bets unattractive unless retail re-engages.