Bitcoin and Ether order books now have greater depth than they did before the October 2025 flash crash. However, liquidity in altcoins continues to decline, while spot trading activity remains far below its peak during the crash period.
A year after the largest liquidation event in cryptocurrency history, market liquidity shows a clear divide. Bitcoin and Ether have regained more resting buy and sell orders than they had on the day of the crash or at the beginning of 2026. Smaller cryptocurrencies and spot trading volumes, however, have yet to experience a similar recovery.
Bitcoin had reached a record high above $126,000 shortly before Oct. 10, 2025, but was trading around $122,600 on the morning of that day. Within hours, its price dropped below $105,000, with a significant portion of the decline occurring within minutes during thin Friday evening trading in the United States. The sell-off followed 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 liquidity has changed, CoinDesk Research examined market depth across major centralized exchanges on four dates: Jan. 1, 2025; Oct. 10, 2025; Jan. 1, 2026; and the current week. Market depth measures the value of buy and sell orders available near an asset’s current price. Deeper order books allow markets to absorb larger trades with less price disruption.
Bitcoin’s order book is now deeper than it was on all three previous comparison dates. On Oct. 7, approximately $11.7 million in orders were available within 1% of its market price. That represents an increase of roughly 75% from the $6.7 million available on crash day, alongside gains from about $9 million at the start of 2026 and $6.9 million at the beginning of 2025.
The improvement cannot be explained by price movements alone. Bitcoin is worth roughly one-third less than it was before the crash, meaning the increase in dollar-denominated depth points to more capital committed by market makers rather than simply reflecting changes in the value of the cryptocurrency.
Most of Bitcoin’s liquidity gains are concentrated close to its current price, where market makers are most active. At a 5% distance from the market price, however, order book depth remains around $24 million, broadly comparable to its level in January 2025.
Ether has recorded an even stronger recovery in certain areas. Its market depth within 0.5% of the current price has more than doubled since the October 2025 crash, reaching approximately $4.2 million. Within a 1% range, liquidity has climbed about 75% to roughly $5.3 million, surpassing levels recorded at the beginning of both 2025 and 2026.
CoinDesk Researcher Saksham Diwan said the increased depth in Bitcoin and Ether reflects genuine capital returning to the market rather than a price-driven effect.
The rebuilt order books faced another test during this week’s market downturn. Bitcoin’s liquidity within 1% of its price declined by approximately 12% between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8. Ether’s narrowest depth range contracted slightly, although the volume of orders placed farther from its market price increased.
Altcoins are experiencing the opposite trend. According to CoinDesk Research’s basket of alternative cryptocurrencies, dollar-denominated market depth was highest on Jan. 1, 2025, and has declined at every subsequent measurement point.
Altcoin liquidity within 5% of the market price has dropped by approximately one-third since the beginning of 2025, falling to around $2 million. Within a tighter 1% range, depth has decreased by roughly one-sixth.
Measured in token units rather than dollars, altcoin liquidity appears more resilient. It reached its highest level on Jan. 1, 2026, and has declined only slightly since. However, analysts noted that this apparent improvement largely reflects falling token prices, which obscure the ongoing reduction in capital committed to altcoin order books.
Spot trading activity remains subdued
Spot trading volumes have also failed to return to their previous levels. CoinDesk Research data show that weekly spot trading volume across centralized exchanges averaged approximately $279 billion during the four weeks leading up to Sept. 27. That was nearly two-thirds below the $801 billion recorded during the week of the October 2025 crash.
Trading activity reached its lowest point in August, when weekly volume fell to approximately $135 billion. Volumes have since doubled, but remain significantly below the levels observed around the crash.
What the liquidity divide signals
The October 10, 2025, sell-off wiped out crypto market liquidity within hours, leaving uncertainty about where capital would move once conditions stabilized.
CoinDesk Research lead Joshua de Vos said the recovery has primarily benefited Bitcoin and Ether. A year earlier, researchers had highlighted thin, fragmented liquidity and uncertainty over where capital would flow after the turmoil.
De Vos said market makers have returned to the two largest cryptocurrencies, pushing their liquidity above pre-crash levels, while altcoin liquidity continues to decline overall.
He expects the divide to continue into 2027, with only a limited number of alternative cryptocurrencies potentially avoiding the broader trend. Institutional investors’ continued preference for major cryptocurrencies and the concentration of trading volumes in Bitcoin and Ether are likely to reinforce this divergence.
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