| Key Points: – Over $620M liquidations, longs hit hardest amid rapid perpetual de-leveraging. – Cascades triggered by margin calls, auto-deleveraging, thin liquidity, clustered stops. – This wave is smaller than 2025’s $1.5B derivatives wipeout. |
Over $620 million in crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with long positions bearing most of the losses, based on data from CoinGlass. The pattern reflects a rapid de‑leveraging in perpetual futures as prices moved against crowded long exposure.
When prices slide through key levels, margin calls and auto‑deleveraging can force positions to close, adding sell pressure and triggering a cascade. Elevated leverage, thin liquidity, and clustered stop levels often accelerate these moves across major pairs and altcoins.
For calibration, the current wave is smaller than several recent stress points reported in the last two years. As reported by Business Insider, a late‑2025 selloff erased roughly $1.5 billion in leveraged positions across majors and altcoins, underscoring how swiftly derivatives risk can reset.
Breakdown by asset and exchange: Bitcoin, Binance, altcoins
Liquidation dashboards commonly disaggregate totals by asset and venue, with Bitcoin (BTC) and high‑volume exchanges like Binance driving a large share of nominal liquidations during broad selloffs. Altcoins tend to show larger percentage swings, making their liquidation flows more volatile even when dollar sums are smaller than BTC’s.
In prior episodes, analysts noted that positioning, profit‑taking, and macro cross‑currents can all compound derivatives stress. As reported by Decrypt, a similar multi‑asset shakeout was described as “driven by profit‑taking, a rising USD, and mixed macroeconomic signals.”
Exchange concentration matters because forced selling can cluster where perpetual futures activity is deepest. That concentration can quicken the feedback loop between price impact, margin thresholds, and subsequent liquidations.
What to watch next and how to manage risk
Leverage signals: funding rates, open interest, and basis
Funding rates help indicate whether longs or shorts are paying to hold risk, offering a read on positioning skew. A sharp drop in open interest alongside falling prices is consistent with de‑risking; a rebound in OI without stabilization can imply re‑risking into volatility.
Term structure and basis can also signal stress. Backwardation in futures versus spot often aligns with risk‑off conditions, while a return to modest contango may suggest normalization, though these signals work best in context with liquidity and order book depth.
Practical controls: sizing, stop-losses, and liquidation heatmaps
Risk teams typically emphasize conservative position sizing relative to collateral, with attention to maintenance margin and liquidation thresholds. Stop‑losses placed before liquidation points can reduce tail risk from sudden wicks and slippage during rapid moves.
Liquidation heatmaps and historical liquidation clusters help identify crowded trigger zones that can amplify cascades. Using partial de‑risking around those zones and avoiding excessive leverage can mitigate the compounding effect of forced unwinds.
At the time of this writing, Coinbase Global (COIN) was quoted near $160.39 after hours, having closed down about 6.5% to $160.24 earlier in the session, according to Yahoo Finance. This equity context illustrates ongoing sector volatility but does not determine crypto price direction.
Disclaimer:
The information provided on AiCryptoCore.com is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency investments involve risk and may result in financial loss. Always conduct your own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
