Crypto Market Sees $1.2 Billion in Liquidations as Bitcoin and Ethereum Crash

The cryptocurrency market faced a sharp downturn on October 18, 2025, with Bitcoin plunging over 6% in the last 24 hours to approximately $104,200, following a failed rebound to $116,000 earlier in the week. This drop, which continued a trend from the previous Friday's crash, was characterized as a dead-cat bounce, erasing hopes of a sustained recovery.

Ethereum experienced even steeper losses, declining nearly 9% to around $3,700, while altcoins like Solana and XRP also saw significant declines. The sell-off triggered a wave of liquidations in the derivatives market, totaling $1.18 billion over the past day, as reported by CoinGlass. Of this, $917 million (77%) involved long positions, with Bitcoin contracts accounting for $431 million, Ethereum for $267 million, Solana for $89 million, and XRP for $27 million.

Notably, the crash coincided with a negative shift in the Coinbase Premium Gap, indicating higher selling pressure from institutional traders on Coinbase compared to Binance. Technical analysts now identify key support levels at $104,000 and $100,000 for Bitcoin, with resistance near $112,000–$114,000. The event also impacted high-profile traders, such as James Wynn, who faced liquidations on meme coin positions like kPEPE, and Machi Big Brother, who lost substantial ETH longs.