What’s next Bitcoin, ETH, SOL, XRP fall 6-10%, bulls see massive $1.6B in liquids
Bitcoin slipped just above $100,000 late Monday before a slight rebound to $101,000, as a wave of forced liquids and renewed macro jitters wiped out billions of speculative positions in crypto markets.
More than $2 billion in futures contracts were liquid in the past 24 hours, per Coinglass, with long traders accounting for nearly 80% of losses at $1.6 billion.
Liquidations occur when traders using borrowed funds are forced to close their positions because their margin falls below required levels. In crypto futures exchanges, this process is automated, as when prices move against a leveraged trade, the platform sells the position in the open market to cover losses.
Large clusters of long breakouts can signal capitulation and potential short-term bottoms, while heavy short wipeouts can precede local tops as momentum flips.
Traders can also track where liquidation levels are concentrated, helping to identify zones of forced activity that may act as nearby support or resistance.
The wipeout marks one of the biggest deleveraging events since September, indicating how fragile the positioning has become after weeks of whipsaw price action.
Bitcoin fell 5.5% in the previous day and is down more than 10% on the week. Ether fell 10% to $3,275, while Solana’s Sol and BNB lost 8% and 7% respectively. XRP, Dogecoin and Cardano also slipped between 5% and 6%.
The total capitalization of the crypto market returned to $ 3.5 trillion, its lowest level in a month.
“Bitcoin traded close to $100,000 today as risk sentiment gripped financial markets, affecting a wide swath of digital assets, stocks, and commodities,” said Gerry O’Shea, head of global market outlook at Hashdex, in an email to Coindesk.
“Recent speculation that the FOMC could pass another rate cut this year, as well as concerns over tariffs, credit market conditions, and equity valuations, helped drive markets lower.
Among exchanges, bybit accounted for $628 million in liquidations, followed by hyperliquid with $533 million and binance at $421 million. The single largest close was an $11 million BTC-USDT long on HTX.
Despite the volatility, analysts said the broader outlook remains constructive.
“While $100,000 may be an important psychological support level, we do not view today’s price action as a sign of a weakening of the long-term investment case for Bitcoin,” O’Shea said.
With the Federal Reserve pausing on further cuts and global risk appetite fragile, traders say the next few sessions will test whether Bitcoin’s bounce can be a sustained recovery – or whether another wave of forced selling lies ahead.
