The cryptocurrency market experienced its most severe liquidation event since early February, with approximately $1.84 billion in leveraged positions wiped out in a single 24-hour period. The sell-off sent Bitcoin tumbling below $66,000 and Ethereum under $1,900, erasing over $140 billion from the total market capitalization.
According to data from CoinGlass, $1.66 billion of the liquidations were long positions betting on price increases, while shorts accounted for just $180 million. Bitcoin longs bore the heaviest losses at $883.66 million, followed by Ethereum longs at $475.73 million and Solana longs at $91.18 million. The single largest trade to be closed was a $59.67 million Bitcoin-USDT long position on the HTX exchange. Over 224,500 individual traders were liquidated across platforms.
Binance handled the bulk of the liquidations, processing $748 million (41% of the total), with 89% of those being longs. Hyperliquid, Bybit, and other exchanges also saw massive wipeouts. Despite falling prices, Bitcoin open interest actually rose—from roughly 759,000 BTC to 788,600 BTC—suggesting new short bets are accumulating. On OKX, whale accounts flipped to a 0.54 long-to-short ratio, which CoinGlass labels as extremely bearish.
The rout was triggered by a confluence of factors. Heightened geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran raised fears of oil supply disruptions, sending Brent crude to $93.89 per barrel. This drove investors toward safe-haven assets, hurting risk-on markets like crypto. Additionally, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $3.5 billion in outflows over the previous 10 trading days, while a $14 million Bitcoin transfer by Tether added to the selling pressure.
On-chain data from Santiment revealed that Bitcoin whales and sharks holding 10–10,000 BTC dumped 24,602 BTC in the past week, while micro-traders accumulated just 61 BTC. Sentiment on social media signaled extreme fear, and Michael Saylor’s Strategy was noted as a key seller. Bitcoin hit a two-month low of $65,300 before slightly recovering to $66,500—down 47% from its October peak. Ethereum dropped to $1,850, a four-month low, while XRP fell 6.43% to $1.21, Solana lost 7.54% to $74.92, and Dogecoin declined 7.05% to $0.093.
Analysts warn that a break below $65,000 for Bitcoin could open a path toward $60,000. Gold advocate Peter Schiff predicted a crash below $50,000 could quickly extend to $20,000, shaking the conviction of long-term holders. With retail longs still dominating on major exchanges, the possibility of further cascading liquidations remains high.
