Bitcoin’s Two-way price action squeezes both leveraged bullish and bearish plays, underscoring challenging market conditions for traders.
In the past 24 hours, BTC price has traded repeatedly between $107,000 and $113,000, wiping out approximately $600 million in broad bullish and bearish futures bets. The wave of liquidations hit as traders cut off major exchanges, with data from Coinglass showing about $355 million in long positions and $301 million in shorts closed in 24 hours.
Bitcoin accounted for most of the damage at more than $340 million, followed by ether at $ 200 million. Solana , and Round up the top losers, each seeing tens of millions in forced liquids.
Such flushes are common after large price swings. Leveraged positions on ongoing futures exchanges are automatically closed when traders’ margin levels fall below maintenance thresholds, often causing prices to move as positions are sold on thin liquidity.
Large liquids serve as critical indicators of short-term market turning points.
“Despite Bitcoin’s sharp pullback over the past 24 hours, the positioning on our futures platform really continues to stabilize,” said Alexia Theodorou, head of derivatives at Kraken. “After hitting a local low on October 6, the long/short ratio on Bitcoin’s Paines has moved back into neutral territory.”
“Recent volatility has pushed derivatives activity on Kraken to record levels, but despite prevailing bearish sentiment, our data suggests many traders are viewing the sell-off as over-optimistic and are cautiously positioning for potential upside. While sentiment remains fragile, we see a more balanced market emerging following an initial wave of capitulation,” Theodorou added.
Feelings remain fragile
BTC’s sharp pullback from overnight highs above $113,000 marked an abrupt end to the recovery from the October 10 lows and indicates how fragile sentiment remains heading into the final stretch of October.
Perhaps, the market is still digesting the fallout from the earlier shock of the month.
“Bulls failed to push the market above recent highs, and we see the formation of an active short-term downtrend,” said Alex Kuptsikich, chief market analyst at FXPro.
“Bitcoin at $108k has again fallen to its 200-day moving average. The spring scenario of prolonged consolidation around this line and a further breakout today looks like the hopeful case for the Bulls,” he added.
Major altcoins tracked BTC lower, with ETH holding near $3,870 and Sol down 9% on the week. BNB and XRP posted minor gains after outperforming in earlier sessions, while memecoins like Doge saw dropper droppers amid heating up speculation.
“The sharp intraday swings across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major altcoins reflect a cautious market sentiment,” said Wenny Cai, co-founder and COO at Synfutures. “After yesterday’s brief recovery, traders are back reacting to macro cues such as rising bond yields, geopolitical uncertainty, and thin liquidity. In this type of environment, even small changes in risk appetite trigger bullish moves.”
Despite the red screens, data from glassnode and ETF flow trackers suggest structural demand has not collapsed. Spot ETF inflows remain robust, exchange balances sit near cycle lows, and long-term holders continue to accumulate.
Traders are now looking to the October 29 Fed meeting, with a long-awaited 25 basis point cut in borrowing costs. The central bank cut rates by 25 bps in September.
