The order books for Bitcoin and Ethereum are deeper than on the day of the crash and at the beginning of 2025 and 2026, and the increase in USD terms reflects market makers deploying more capital, not just lower coin prices.
Altcoin liquidity, on the other hand, has moved in the opposite direction: USD depth has steadily declined since early 2025, a trend masked by falling token prices.
Weekly spot trading volume decreased by nearly two-thirds compared to the week of the crash, despite roughly doubling from the August low.
One year after the largest forced liquidation event in crypto history, market "pipelines" show divergent narratives. Order book liquidity for Bitcoin and Ethereum is now higher than on the day of the crash or at the beginning of this year; smaller-cap tokens and spot trading have not followed suit.
Several days after reaching a historic high of over $126,000, Bitcoin dropped to around $122,600 in early trading on October 10, 2025. Hours later, it fell below $105,000—much of the decline occurring during thin trading hours on Friday evening in the U.S., when President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imported goods. Over $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in a single day.
To measure the subsequent recovery, CoinDesk Research compared the market depth of major centralized exchanges at four points in time: January 1, 2025; October 10, 2025; January 1, 2026; and this week. Depth refers to the value of buy and sell orders near the current price. The deeper the order book, the larger the volume of large trades that can be absorbed without significantly moving the price.
The order book for Bitcoin is now deeper than at any of the earlier points mentioned. On October 7, there were approximately $11.7 million in orders within a 1% price range. This represents about a 75% increase compared to the crash day a year ago, and is higher than the approximately $9 million at the beginning of this year and the roughly $6.9 million at the start of 2025.
This is not a price effect. Bitcoin is currently trading at about two-thirds of its pre-crash price, so the deeper order book in USD terms reflects market makers committing more capital, not just coins becoming cheaper.
Improvements are concentrated near the price—the range where market makers are most active. Further out, at a 5% distance from the price, depth is approximately $24 million, roughly returning to levels seen in January 2025.
Ethereum's recovery has been stronger in some respects. Depth within a 0.5% range has more than doubled since the crash day, reaching approximately $4.2 million. At the 1% level, depth has risen by about three-quarters to approximately $5.3 million, surpassing both January readings.
"The deepening of major cryptocurrencies represents real capital, not a price effect," said CoinDesk researcher Saksham Diwan.
The rebuilt order book underwent an initial test earlier this week. As the market sold off, Bitcoin’s 1% depth decreased by approximately 12% between October 7 and October 8. The tightest spread bands for Ethereum slightly widened, while orders farther from the price increased.
Altcoins are being left behind.
For altcoins, the picture is exactly the opposite. In CoinDesk Research’s altcoin basket, USD depth was highest on January 1, 2025, and has been lower at every subsequent measurement point.
Depth at 5% from the price has declined by about one-third since early 2025, to approximately $2 million. At the closer 1% level, it has decreased by about one-sixth.
Measured by token volume, altcoin depth appears healthier: it peaked on January 1 of this year and has since declined only modestly. However, analysts note that the "recovery" in token units has been driven primarily by price declines, masking ongoing erosion of committed capital.
Spot trading continues to decline
Spot trading has not yet resumed. According to CoinDesk Research, the average weekly spot trading volume on centralized exchanges over the four weeks ending September 27 was approximately $279 billion, nearly two-thirds lower than the $801 billion recorded during the crash week.
Activity hit its low point in August, when weekly trading volume dropped to around $135 billion, and has since doubled. However, it remains far below levels seen before and after the crash.
What does this mean?
On October 10, 2025, crypto liquidity evaporated within hours. Where it would go next was an open question.
“A year ago, we wrote that liquidity was thin and fragmented, and it was unclear where capital would rotate once the dust settled. Now we have our answer: Bitcoin and Ethereum,” said Joshua de Vos, Head of Research at CoinDesk. “Market makers have returned to major cryptocurrencies, with liquidity now exceeding pre-crash levels, while altcoin liquidity as a whole continues to decline. Beyond a select few altcoins, I expect this divergence to persist into next year, as major cryptocurrencies will continue to dominate institutional interest and trading volume.”
Author: Oliver Knight; Translated by Shenchao TechFlow