Liquidations Top $1 Billion as Longs Get Squeezed

More than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were forced closed in 24 hours, as a drop in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices triggered one of the market’s largest liquidation waves in weeks. The scale of the unwind shows how much leverage had built up in derivatives markets before this week’s decline, and why the price drop fed on itself once it started.

Key Takeaways

  • Bitcoin fell 3.3% to $80,550.95 and Ethereum fell 5.7% to $2,413.37 in the 24 hours to Oct. 8 at 17:30 UTC, according to The Crypto Times
  • Total crypto market capitalization dropped 3.31% to about $2.83 trillion over the same period
  • Crypto liquidations reached $1.13 billion in 24 hours, with long positions accounting for $1.05 billion and 187,974 traders liquidated, per CoinGlass data
  • The ETH/BTC ratio fell 2.8% to 0.02991, with Ethereum recording the largest liquidation losses among major assets
  • Rising Treasury yields, oil above $100 a barrel, and Federal Reserve minutes signaling another possible rate increase added pressure on risk assets

Bitcoin traded between $80,426.95 and $83,562.71 before settling near $80,550.95, down 3.3% on the day, according to CoinGecko data cited by The Crypto Times. Ethereum’s range ran from $2,409.36 to $2,584.49, with the asset closing the period at $2,413.37, down 5.7%. TokenPost reported the same prices by 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday, placing Bitcoin at $80,550.95 and Ether at $2,413.37.

CoinGlass data cited by The Crypto Times put total liquidations at $1.13 billion over 24 hours, with longs making up $1.05 billion and shorts about $82.70 million. The imbalance was already visible in shorter windows: four-hour liquidations hit $757.06 million, of which $712.75 million came from long positions, while the 12-hour figure reached $981.34 million. Ethereum accounted for $318.53 million of the losses, ahead of Bitcoin at $286.89 million, Solana at $66.88 million, XRP at $34.13 million, and NEAR at $22.77 million. The single largest liquidation was a $19.98 million ETH-USD position on Hyperliquid.

CryptoSlate recorded a separate snapshot taken earlier in the session, putting liquidations at $1.16 billion across 166,769 traders, with $1.05 billion from bullish bets versus $108 million in shorts. The outlet’s figures for Ethereum ($324 million) and Bitcoin ($240 million) liquidations differ slightly from The Crypto Times’ numbers, reflecting the different timestamps, but both outlets agree on the core pattern: Ethereum absorbed heavier liquidation losses than Bitcoin.

Ethereum Underperforms Bitcoin Across the Board

Ethereum fell further than Bitcoin on both a percentage and liquidation basis. The ETH/BTC ratio dropped 2.8% to 0.02991, and Ethereum’s open interest in perpetual futures stood at $43.68 billion against Bitcoin’s $65.53 billion, according to CoinGecko data cited by The Crypto Times. Bitcoin’s market capitalization was about $1.62 trillion, a 57.16% share of the total crypto market, with 24-hour trading volume near $40.26 billion. Ethereum’s market cap stood at roughly $294.63 billion, with volume around $17.60 billion.

The weakness extended to other large-cap tokens. CryptoSlate reported Solana fell 7.2% to about $108.61, XRP declined 5.7% to $1.35, BNB fell 4.9%, and Zcash dropped 14% over 24 hours. The outlet also cited an Oct. 7 Glassnode report noting that open interest across large-cap altcoins, relative to their market capitalization, had reached its highest level since before the October 2025 crypto market crash, leaving traders exposed to further forced selling if prices kept falling.

Treasury Yields and Fed Signals Weigh on Risk Assets

The selloff coincided with a tightening macro backdrop. The 10-year Treasury yield rose above 5.3%, Brent crude traded above $100 a barrel, and the dollar strengthened, according to TradingEconomics data cited by The Crypto Times. CoinDesk reported the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.71% and the 10-year to 5.32%, ahead of a $22 billion 30-year bond auction Thursday.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, released this week, showed all 19 officials backed last month’s rate increase, with most seeing another as likely appropriate by year-end, per CoinDesk. Higher yields raise the opportunity cost of holding assets that don’t pay interest, a dynamic The Crypto Times noted contributed to the wave of long-position liquidations. The pressure wasn’t confined to tokens: US-listed crypto companies including Coinbase, Robinhood, and Strategy also came under pressure during the broader market retreat earlier in the week, according to The Crypto Times.

What to Watch

Bitcoin was trading near $80,500 and Ethereum near $2,410 as of the 17:30 UTC snapshot, with traders assessing whether the liquidation wave has run its course or whether broader risk-market pressure continues, per The Crypto Times. CryptoSlate’s reporting pointed to another liquidation cluster near $75,000 for Bitcoin if the decline extends. On the macro side, CoinDesk noted the September consumer price index, due Oct. 14, is the last inflation reading before the Fed’s Oct. 28 rate decision, a data point that will shape whether the current rate-hike expectations hold.

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