A crash is an unusually severe and rapid price decline in an asset or market. The term emphasizes the speed and scale of the move, often together with disorderly trading. There is no single percentage threshold that defines every crypto crash.
How declines can accelerate
A sudden loss of confidence or an adverse event can trigger selling. If buyers withdraw orders, available liquidity may shrink just as sellers need it. Liquidations of leveraged positions can add more sell orders, reinforcing the decline. These mechanisms can interact, but a price chart alone does not establish which one started the event.
A crash in one token is also different from a market-wide crash affecting many assets. The scope should be stated explicitly.
Price and execution risk
During rapid moves, quoted prices can change before an order executes, spreads can widen and slippage can increase. Trading restrictions or interruptions depend on the venue and product; a universal crypto-market trading halt should not be assumed.
A crash can be followed by a rebound, a prolonged decline or permanent loss of value. Its occurrence does not by itself prove fraud or identify a buying opportunity. Recovery in another asset or an earlier episode does not guarantee recovery this time.