A sharp wave of volatility has rippled through the crypto market, triggering widespread liquidation and wiping out an estimated $457 million in leveraged positions over the past 24 hours. The sudden move caught many traders off guard, underscoring how quickly sentiment can shift in a market still driven by leverage, macroeconomic uncertainty, and rapid fluctuations in momentum.
Long Positions Take the Hardest Hit
Data from analytics platform CoinGlass has revealed that $457 million was wiped out of the crypto market in the past 24 hours, with a total of 116,028 traders bearing the brunt. According to the data, long traders took the biggest hit, suffering a total capitulation of $374 million, while short positions accounted for $83 million.
CoinGlass data showed that the most significant single liquidation order was valued at $11.27 million and happened on HyperLiquid with the BTC-USD trading pair. Furthermore, among exchanges, HyperLiquid saw the most liquidation, with $115.68 million wiped off.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin experienced the worst liquidation in the past 24 hours, with over $147 million liquidated, and long traders accounted for a significant share of the figure. Ethereum came next, seeing over $109 million liquidated, with long traders losing $92.21 million out of the figure.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for a significant share of the liquidations, sharp moves were also recorded among high-cap altcoins, where thinner liquidity tends to amplify price swings.
Notably, XRP also saw $20 million liquidated, with long traders taking the biggest hit, having $18.11 million wiped out. Additionally, SUI incurred $5.20 million in liquidation, with long traders accounting for $3.18 of the loss.
Volatility Returns as Sentiment Shifts
The latest liquidation event comes amid a fragile market backdrop. Traders have been closely watching macroeconomic signals, including interest rate expectations and risk appetite across global markets. Any hint of tightening financial conditions or reduced liquidity often spills over into crypto, where speculative exposure is more pronounced.
Meanwhile, funding rates have remained elevated on several perpetual futures contracts before the drop, signaling crowded long positioning. When markets become one-sided, even a modest price move can trigger outsized reactions.
What the Liquidation Means for the Market Going Forward
While liquidation events are painful for traders caught on the wrong side, they can also serve a broader market function. By flushing out excessive leverage, sharp corrections often reset funding rates and reduce the risk of further cascading sell-offs in the short term. Historically, similar wipeouts have sometimes paved the way for more stable price action once the dust settles.
However, the near-term outlook remains uncertain. If volatility persists and macro pressures continue to weigh on risk assets, further liquidations cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, a cooling-off period with lower leverage could help the market regain balance. Meanwhile, according to CoinMarketCap, the global cryptocurrency market cap has seen a 1.6% dip over the past 24 hours, currently standing at $3.217 trillion.
Bitcoin, which was trading around $92,000 earlier today, has plunged to $91,220 at press time, while Ethereum is down from $3,200 to $3,128.
The CoinRemark Team
