BTC plunge triggers $1.6B crypto liquidations

TLDR

Bitcoin dropped to around 61,000 USD, triggering one of 2026s largest waves of forced liquidations in crypto derivatives.

1. Around 1.6 billion USD of mostly long positions were liquidated in 24 hours as BTC hit a four month low near 61,000 USD, flushing over 270,000 traders.
2. The move was amplified by very high leverage, persistent spot ETF outflows and a small but symbolic corporate BTC sale, which helped trigger a liquidation cascade across BTC, ETH and major altcoins.
3. Leverage and open interest have reset lower, but ETF outflows, extreme fear and fragile support around 60,000 USD mean volatility and downside risk remain elevated in the near term.

Deep Dive

1. Size Of The Flush

Multiple sources report that as BTC slid from above 67,000 USD to around 61,000 USD, total crypto liquidations over 24 hours reached roughly 1.6 billion USD, with about 1.35 billion USD in longs wiped out and roughly 735800 million USD tied to BTC positions alone. Articles from CCN and others describe this as one of 2026s biggest liquidation events and Bitcoins worst long flush since the October 2025 crash, with more than 270,000 traders liquidated in a day as BTC hit a four month low near 61,000 USD.

Altcoins saw even sharper percentage moves, with ETH dropping toward the high 1,700s and coins like SOL, ADA and others posting double digit daily losses as the total crypto market cap shed roughly 140150 billion USD in a single session. Our aggregate data shows total crypto market cap down about 5 percent over 24 hours, to roughly 2.12 trillion USD, confirming broad damage, not just isolated BTC volatility.

2. Why It Escalated

Derivatives data and coverage point to a classic leverage unwind. Prior to the drop, BTC futures and perpetual funding were elevated, with leverage ratios at or above levels seen before the October 2025 crash, leaving markets vulnerable to any shock. When price started to slip, long positions began hitting margin thresholds, forced selling pushed BTC lower, which in turn triggered more liquidations, creating a feedback loop described as a liquidation cascade.

At the same time, spot Bitcoin ETFs have been in a rare, extended outflow streak, with reports of roughly 1.44.0 billion USD redeemed over recent weeks and about 396 million USD exiting in a single day, forcing underlying BTC selling. A small sale of 32 BTC by the largest corporate holder (symbolically breaking a never sell stance) added to sentiment damage, even though the notional amount was tiny compared to its holdings. Together with risk-off macro moves and rotation into AI and tech equities, this left crypto with few fresh buyers when the cascade began.

3. What To Watch Next

Derivatives open interest in perpetuals has fallen around 7 percent over 24 hours, and broader derivatives open interest is down more than 11 percent over 30 days, indicating that a meaningful chunk of leverage has now been flushed from the system. Funding rates have turned much closer to flat or even negative in places, and the Fear & Greed index sits deep in extreme fear, around the mid teens, showing sentiment is already very pessimistic.

Key risk markers from here are:

1. Whether ETF outflows slow or reverse, since continued redemptions would keep adding mechanical sell pressure.
2. Whether BTC can hold the 60,00061,000 USD area that many analysts flag as a major support zone tied to long term moving averages and prior consolidation.
3. Whether open interest and funding rebuild in a healthier way, rather than immediately re-leveraging into every small bounce.

Conclusion

Bitcoins slide to around 61,000 USD combined stretched leverage, steady ETF outflows and fragile sentiment into a 1.6 billion USD liquidation cascade that hit BTC, ETH and altcoins across the board. That flush has reduced some of the speculative excess in derivatives, but the backdrop of risk-off flows and critical support just below current prices means the market is still in a fragile regime where flows and positioning matter as much as fundamentals.