The global crypto market capitalization climbed to $2.43 trillion on February 17, posting a 0.7% increase over the past 24 hours. Total trading volume stood at $91.6 billion. Prices recovered modestly, but sentiment stayed weak, with the Fear and Greed Index at 10, still in extreme fear territory.
Large-cap assets remained relatively steady. Bitcoin traded at $68,830.2, up 0.37% in 24 hours, with $33.55 billion in volume and a market capitalization of $1.37 trillion. Ethereum changed hands at $2,001.54, rising 2.06%, with volume of $18.64 billion and market cap of $241.5 billion. Bitcoin dominance was listed at 56.5%, while Ethereum held 9.89%.
Altcoin trading split sharply as SIREN and RPL led gains
Among the strongest 24-hour movers, Siren (SIREN) rose to $0.2229, up 53.84%, with trading volume of $42.39 million. Rocket Pool (RPL) reached $2.64, gaining 53.6% on volume of $48.53 million. Zama (ZAMA) advanced 7.38% to $0.02252, while Bittensor (TAO) added 3.73% to trade at $193.93.
On the downside, Tria (TRIA) fell to $0.01667, down 6.11%, with volume at $402.98 million. Humanity Protocol (H) dropped 11.75%, MYX Finance (MYX) declined 9.75%, and Pippin (PIPPIN) lost 9.41%. The spread between top gainers and laggards pointed to fast rotation across altcoins and continued volatility inside the segment.
DeFi outperformed while stablecoins edged higher
Sector data showed stronger movement in DeFi. The decentralized finance market increased 3.8% over 24 hours to $51.3 billion, with trading volume at $3.8 billion. Its global market share was listed at 2.1%. Stablecoins recorded a 0.1% gain, bringing total market capitalization to $309.4 billion and trading volume to $69 billion.
Sentiment data changed little. The Fear and Greed Index was 12 yesterday, 9 a week ago, and 49 a month ago. The current reading is below the prior day and close to last week’s level, showing that traders remain cautious even as the broader market posts a small rebound.
Market headlines added to the cautious tone
News items tracked in the daily roundup included a ruling by the Supreme Court of Cyprus allowing police to open a bank safe box belonging to an Israeli couple in a cross-border crypto fraud investigation led by France and tied to $700 million. Zcash developers also formed the Zcash Open Development Lab, while Josh Swihart said funds remain safe after the wallet rename and users do not need to take action. Separate reporting on Bitcoin mining said the sector uses 0.23% of global power consumption.
The source also cited cross-network payments totaling $16.4 million in recent weeks, strong same-store sales at Steak n Shake after adding Bitcoin payments, and more than $3 million in losses by Hayden Davis from trades in PUMP, PENGUIN, and TROVE before returning to Solana meme coin activity. Taken together, the market showed recovery in prices, but not in confidence.