Crypto liquidations surpass $1 billion in 24 hours as Bitcoin and Ethereum tumble

The cryptocurrency market experienced over $1 billion in liquidations in 24 hours ending Thursday evening, with nearly 70% concentrated in long positions as Bitcoin and Ethereum led sharp declines, according to Coinglass data. Ethereum accounted for $115 million in liquidations while bitcoin saw $80 million, as negative funding rates signaled growing bearish sentiment among leveraged traders.

Tom Andrews, senior analyst CryptoQuant, said: “The liquidations indicate that market sentiment is very fragile among retail traders and leveraged positions.”

Bitcoin Futures Stable Despite Bearish Pressure

Despite the large liquidation, Bitcoin futures open interest remained around $25 billion.

However, funding rates on Binance and OKX remained negative between -2% and -3%, indicating that traders are expecting further price declines.

Maya Collins, Derivatives Researcher, Bitget, said: “Negative funding rates reflect traders’ reluctance to take risk aversion and long positions.”

Options and Market Signals

Sentiment in the options market remained somewhat mixed. The 1-week 25 delta skew increased to 12.6%, indicating that some investors are buying call options in anticipation of a potential recovery.

Meanwhile, the 24-hour put/call volume ratio remained balanced, reflecting steady interest from both buyers and sellers.

Altcoins Situation

Altcoins were under heavy pressure on Thursday. TAO, ASTER, LDO fell over 12%, while TRX showed modest gains despite the market downturn.

Low liquidity and cautious sentiment prevented any significant recovery, as traders adopted a strategy to avoid liquidations.

Key Bitcoin Levels

According to the Binance Liquidation Heatmap, $110,009 is a key threshold for Bitcoin.

Analysts warn that if this level is broken, additional liquidations could be triggered, which could increase short-term volatility.

Impact on Traditional Markets

Along with the crypto market downturn, the Dow Jones saw a 300-point decline, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite saw a 0.6% and 0.5% decline, respectively.

Debt problems at regional banks such as Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance also created pressure in the stock market, raising concerns about credit risk.

Macroeconomic Pressure

US-China trade tensions and a third week of government shutdown dampened global risk appetite.

The absence of key economic data and falling Treasury yields have driven investors to safe haven assets like gold, which hit a new high of $4,300 an ounce.

Market experts’ forecast

Analysts say the liquidations reflect high leverage and weak investor sentiment, which could persist in the short term.

Ethan Morris, Chief Economist, Digital Asset Insights, said: “Until economic conditions become clearer and liquidity improves, market volatility will continue.”

Given the global uncertainty, traders are advised to manage trading exposure carefully, as the market is going through a highly unpredictable phase of the quarter.