More than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours as a broad sell-off sent Bitcoin from above $109,000 toward $105,000, with intraday prints near $104,700 on some venues.
CoinGlass figures show roughly $717.7 million in perpetual futures liquidations alone, led by $372 million on BTC and $252 million on Ethereum (ETH). In all, almost 290,000 traders were “rekt” as cascading margin calls rippled across exchanges, amplifying volatility and slippage in thin order books.
The move follows a failed attempt by BTC to reclaim the $116,000–$123,000 resistance zone earlier in the week. Technicians now flag $104,000 as first defense and $100,000 as the next major support, while a push back above $112,000–$114,000 could stabilize price action.
Leverage Unwinds Batter Altcoins; High-Profile Traders Hit
Altcoins lagged as capital rotated toward Bitcoin and stablecoins during the broader risk-off move. The most significant single liquidation occurred on HYPE, where an ETH-USD position worth $20 million was force-closed amid cascading margin calls.
BNB fell double digits from recent highs; XRP slid toward $2.20 as open interest fell from $9 billion to $3.5 billion following a $610 million liquidation event, even as Volatility Shares filed for a 5x leveraged XRP ETF. Meme coins were hit hardest as on-chain data show aggressive de-risking and reduced spot depth.
The rout also claimed well-known degens. James Wynn suffered multiple liquidations on $kPEPE longs, including a wipe of 9.79 million kPEPE ($66,000) as he re-levered into subsequent dips.
Machi Big Brother saw a string of ETH long liquidations (one block of 206 ETH, $787,000) as price slipped below $3,800. Tracking services note Machi’s cumulative drawdowns now far exceed earlier gains, an object lesson in the dangers of high leverage during volatility spikes.
What to Watch Next: Levels, Flows, and Volatility
Short term, traders are focused on:
- Levels: BTC support at $104,000 then $100,000; resistance $112,000–$114,000 and $116,000. For ETH, support $3,800–$3,900, resistance $4,200–$4,400.
- Flows: ETF net flows, stablecoin liquidity, and exchange balances, renewed inflows would validate buy-the-dip behavior and rebuild depth.
- Derivatives: Open interest, funding, and skew. After the purge, cleaner positioning could reduce tail risk but options activity implies elevated implied vol ahead.
Macro headlines (tariff rhetoric, growth data, and the U.S. government shutdown’s knock-on effects) remain the wild card.
If BTC holds $104,000 and ETFs flip back to net inflows, a range rebuild is likely; lose it, and the market’s gaze shifts to the psychological $100,000 round number with wider collateral effects across altcoins.
Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
