why is crypto down today: Ethereum plunge as Crypto liquidations top $1.1 Billion — and Why Cardano can’t catch up

Altcoins such as Dogecoin, Solana and BNB also experienced sharp declines of around 9%, adding to the chaos in the market. Total liquidations reached $1.16 billion, with $1.08 billion in long positions, indicating that most traders were betting on rising prices and were caught off guard. Ethereum alone saw $273 million in prolonged liquidations, second only to Bitcoin’s $298 million, making ETH one of the cryptocurrencies hardest hit in this sudden crisis.

Crypto market crash caused by US traders

The crash occurred as U.S. exchanges such as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 remained in the green, signaling that the sell-off was crypto-specific rather than triggered by broader financial markets, according to Decrypt. Crypto analyst Maartunn of CryptoQuant said Ethereum’s charts are showing “signs of fragility” and that US traders are likely driving the selling pressure.
He announced that the Ethereum price is retesting support levels that occur in downtrends. “During strong bullish phases, the support level cannot be retested because this level is running ahead,” Maartunn told Decrypt. “Multiple tests of the same support level are not bullish.”

He added that the Coinbase premium, which measures the price difference between Coinbase and other exchanges, has turned negative, indicating that US investors are selling more heavily. “By the time Monday morning came, the Coinbase premium turned negative again and continued to expand into the open market. This shows that US investors have great influence on the price,” he said, as noted by Decrypt.

Adding to the pressure, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that “some parts of the economy may have been dragged into recession” due to high interest rates, scaring crypto investors ahead of US employment data.

Ethereum’s strength against Cardano

At the same time, Ethereum remains the powerhouse of the crypto world, easily eclipsing rivals like Cardano (ADA), which was created by one of Ethereum’s own co-founders but has failed to keep up, according to the Motley Fool. Ethereum dominates DeFi, stablecoins, and dApps with a market cap of $456.4 billion compared to Cardano’s market cap of $22.3 billion. Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem hosts over $163 billion in stablecoins that support trading, lending, and payments. Cardano has only $36 million, a very small portion of this liquidity. Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) is around $85.3 billion, while Cardano’s is only $273 million, showing how far behind ADA is in attracting users and developers. ALSO READ: BTC crash warning: Why Bitcoin Price dropped to $107,000 and why experts warn it could drop to $88,000

Ethereum’s strong developer base and institutional adoption are helping Cardano expand into real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and other financial products where it has little traction. Cardano’s approach, which relies on academic peer reviews and slow progress, appeals to a niche group of developers but limits its speed and market adaptability.

Cardano has some new projects, such as the USDM stablecoin launched on March 17 and the new AI-friendly web-based payment standard, but they remain small-scale. Cardano could grow through 2030, but Ethereum’s solid scale, liquidity, and innovation cycle mean it will likely extend its lead and cement ETH as a stronger long-term bet, experts say, per the Motley Fool’s report.

So even if Ethereum’s price drops in the short term, its network dominance and institutional support make it much more resilient than smaller chains; This shows that Ethereum’s long play remains strong even in volatile markets.

FAQ

Q1. Why did Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies crash this week?

Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies have crashed due to liquidations exceeding $1.1 billion, heavy selling pressure from US traders and concerns about high interest rates.

Q2. Is Ethereum still stronger than Cardano after the price drop?

Yes, Ethereum remains much stronger than Cardano, with much higher market cap, developer activity, and dominance in DeFi and stablecoins.