Crypto liquidations cross $1B as ETH leads

TLDR

Over the past 24 hours, more than $1 billion of leveraged crypto positions have been liquidated, with Ethereum (ETH) taking the biggest hit among major coins.

1. Multiple derivatives datasets show roughly $1.1 to $1.2 billion liquidated in 24 hours, with ETH around $320 to $350 million and longs responsible for most losses.
2. ETH led the wave because leverage and positioning were more stretched than Bitcoin (BTC), in a selloff triggered by hawkish Fed signals, oil shocks, and geopolitical tension.
3. Open interest and volumes remain elevated, so BTC and ETH breaking recent support levels could trigger further cascades; watching leverage, funding, and ETF flows is critical.

Deep Dive

1. Scale Of The Flush

Reports based on CoinGlass data put total crypto liquidations in the last day around $1.1 to $1.2 billion, with roughly $1.05 billion coming from bullish (long) positions and under $100 to $160 million from shorts. Coverage such as TokenPosts piece on how Ether leads roughly $1.1 billion in liquidations and CryptoSlates summary of a $1.16 billion bloodbath agree on that broad range.

ETH accounted for about $318 to $356 million of liquidations, while BTCs tally clustered around $240 to $300 million, according to analyses from TokenPost and CoinDesks review of ETH bets wiped out at six times Bitcoins rate. That means ETH alone represented roughly one third of the notional value forcibly closed.

Importantly, these figures are the face value of positions closed by exchanges, not cash withdrawn from crypto. They show how much leverage was flushed, not how much capital definitively left the market.

2. Why Ethereum Was Hit Hardest

Several datasets and commentaries agree that ETH traders were more leveraged and crowded than BTC going into the move. CoinDesk notes that ETHs liquidation losses were about six times greater than BTCs when scaled by market value, with ETH falling more than 3 to 5.7 percent versus BTC around 1 to 3 percent in the same window.

Derivatives-focused reports highlight clustered stop-loss and liquidation levels just below psychological zones: ETH below $2,500 and BTC below $81,000, with exchanges like Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Hyperliquid seeing heavy activity. A large ETH position of nearly $20 million on Hyperliquid was singled out as the biggest single liquidation in one article from U.Todays coverage of liquidations crossing $1 billion.

Macro context amplified the move. Fed minutes reinforcing the prospect of another rate hike, rising oil prices tied to conflict in Iran, and broader risk-off flows in equities and AI-related stocks all helped push risk assets lower at once, making leveraged ETH positions especially vulnerable when support levels broke.

3. Signals And Levels To Watch

Despite the flush, derivatives metrics show leverage remains substantial. Aggregated data put total crypto derivatives open interest around $422.6 billion, slightly higher than a day ago, with 24-hour derivatives volume up more than 20 percent versus the prior period. That suggests leverage has been reduced, but not fully cleansed.

Short term, several analyses highlight BTC support around $80,000 to $82,000 and ETH around $2,400 to $2,500 as key zones. Breaks below those areas have recently coincided with spikes in long liquidations, while rebounds toward $83,000 for BTC and $2,500 for ETH have come with smaller short squeezes rather than fresh long flushes.

Beyond price levels, three metrics are worth monitoring:

1. Derivatives open interest and funding rates, to gauge how quickly leverage is rebuilding.
2. Liquidation clusters and venue concentration (for example, large positions on a single exchange like Hyperliquid).
3. Spot ETF flows for BTC and, increasingly, ETH, which can reinforce or offset derivatives-driven pressure.

Confidence: high multiple independent datasets and reports converge on the liquidation totals and ETHs leading role.

Conclusion

This liquidation episode shows how quickly a macro shock and crowded leverage can turn into a billion-dollar flush, with ETH bearing disproportionate pain relative to BTC. Leverage is lower but still large, so whether BTC and ETH hold or lose their recently tested support zones will shape whether this remains a sharp but contained shakeout or the opening phase of a deeper deleveraging. Watching derivatives positioning alongside macro news is the most effective way to judge the next move.