In the past 10 days, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has dropped by $2.24 billion. This indicates a capital outflow from the digital asset market and may delay its recovery, according to analysts at Santiment.
📉 The combined marketcap of the top 12 stablecoins in crypto has declined by $2.24B in the past 10 days alone. This drop has coincided with a -8% drop in Bitcoin's price. A few things to interpret from this:
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 26, 2026
🥇🥈 Capital is rotating into traditional safe havens like gold and… pic.twitter.com/jfk1NSGygA
“Typically, when traders sell Bitcoin or altcoins, those funds remain in the crypto market as stablecoins. The decline in stablecoin capitalization indicates that many investors are withdrawing money into fiat rather than preparing to buy on dips,” they noted.
The drop in the sector's capitalization to $308.1 billion coincided with a correction in Bitcoin, which fell 8% during the same period—from $95,000 to $88,000.
At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency is trading around $88,400.
According to experts, capital is currently flowing into traditional safe assets—investors are opting for safety over risk. This is evidenced by the rally in precious metals: on January 26, gold surpassed $5,000 per ounce for the first time, while silver rose above $110.
“In times of uncertainty, money often moves into assets perceived as stores of value during economic turmoil, rather than into volatile markets like cryptocurrencies,” Santiment commented.
A recovery will require an increase in stablecoin capitalization, indicating an influx of fresh capital into the ecosystem and a renewal of investor confidence.
Bear Market?
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost also pointed to a decline in the capitalization of ERC-20 standard stablecoins on the Ethereum network. Over the week, this figure plummeted by $7 billion—from $162 billion to $155 billion.
Stablecoin Market Cap is Dropping
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) January 26, 2026
“This is a very negative signal, explained by the fact that some investors are choosing to fully exit the crypto market, which continues to correct, while precious metals keep surging.” – By @Darkfost_Coc pic.twitter.com/IQlyXCvidf
“This is a very negative signal, indicating that some investors prefer to exit the market entirely, which continues to decline, while precious metals are rising and stock markets maintain a steady upward trend,” the expert emphasized.
He noted that a similar trend in 2021 confirmed Bitcoin's entry into a prolonged downturn. However, at that time, the collapse of the Terra ecosystem also played a significant role.
Recall that at the end of January, after Bitcoin fell below $90,000, CryptoQuant specialists announced the beginning of an early bear phase. This was indicated by profitability metrics for the leading cryptocurrency, which had turned negative.
The realized losses for Bitcoin holders reached $4.5 billion—the highest in three years. An analyst known as Gaah described the situation as market capitulation.