TLDR
Bitcoin's latest price slide triggered around 1.0 billion dollars of forced crypto liquidations, mostly on leveraged long positions, as macro shocks and ETF outflows drove a sharp deleveraging.
- Around 1.0 to 1.3 billion dollars of crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, roughly 75 percent from longs, with Bitcoin and Ethereum bearing most losses.
- The wipeout followed Bitcoin dropping toward 59,000 dollars on stronger than expected US jobs data, rising rate hike odds, and a long streak of spot Bitcoin ETF outflows.
- Leverage has been reduced but not cleared, so further volatility is likely around key levels such as 60,000 dollars for BTC and 1,500 dollars for ETH.
Deep Dive
1. Scale Of Liquidations
Reports show about 1.03 billion dollars in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in a single day, with roughly 795.6 million dollars from longs and 239 million from shorts, as BTC and ETH led a broad deleveraging. One breakdown has Bitcoin at about 461.9 million dollars in liquidations and Ethereum at 359.8 million, with sizeable hits in Solana, Dogecoin, XRP, BNB, Sui, Pepe and others.
Another analysis cites more than 1.3 billion dollars liquidated in 24 hours, again over 1 billion from longs, while weekly totals approach 7 billion dollars in liquidations across the market. Most of the largest single-venue liquidations occurred on major derivatives exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, OKX and Bitget, highlighting how concentrated leverage remains.
The move was not just a spot selloff but a broad forced clean-up of leveraged positions, especially bullish ones that were late to the trend.
2. Why The Flush Happened
Bitcoin fell to the 59,000 to 60,000 dollar area, its lowest since late 2024, after a US jobs report beat expectations and traders priced in a higher chance of Federal Reserve rate hikes. Risk assets, including crypto, sold off as higher yields reduced appetite for speculative exposure.
At the same time, US spot Bitcoin ETFs logged about 4.4 billion dollars in net outflows over a record 13-session streak, removing a key source of dip-buying demand that had previously absorbed selling. Analysts also point to capital rotation into artificial intelligence and tech infrastructure, plus concern about vulnerabilities exposed by advanced AI, as additional drags on crypto valuations.
3. Leverage, Levels And Next Signals
On the derivatives side, total perpetual open interest fell roughly 8 to 11 percent over the past day, indicating some leverage was flushed out, but open interest remains large relative to spot market depth. Some data even showed open interest rising into the drop, which increases the risk of both further cascades and sharp short squeezes.
Sentiment has swung to extreme fear, with a fear and greed index reading near the low teens, while Bitcoin dominance hovers around the high 50 percent range, signaling a defensive tilt toward BTC over altcoins. Key price levels traders are watching include 60,000 dollars for BTC and around 1,500 to 1,400 dollars for ETH, plus whether ETF flows stabilize or turn positive again.
Until leverage is cleaner and ETF or spot demand reappears, swings around major support zones can remain violent, so monitoring open interest and flow data is as important as watching price.
Conclusion
The latest Bitcoin slide was amplified by heavy, mostly long-side liquidations that cleared out crowded bullish leverage across BTC, ETH and major altcoins. Macro headwinds, ETF outflows and risk-off positioning turned a routine pullback into a full deleveraging event. The market now sits in an extreme fear regime, and whether this becomes a durable bottom or another step in a larger downtrend will depend on how quickly leverage normalizes and institutional demand returns.
