The crypto market started the week with a powerful wave of forced position closures. Over the past 24 hours, the total volume of liquidations reached nearly $658 million, with the main blow hitting traders who expected the rally to continue.
According to Coinglass, long positions lost about $584.4 million. In comparison, shorts were liquidated for only $73.5 million. This difference shows how overloaded the market was with bets on further growth of bitcoin and altcoins.
More Than 100,000 Traders Faced Liquidations
In one day, exchanges closed positions for about 106,000 traders. This no longer looks like a typical local correction after the recent weeks’ rally.
The market entered a classic phase of cascading liquidations. When the price starts to fall sharply, leveraged positions are automatically closed by exchanges, and additional selling increases pressure and triggers a new wave of liquidations.
Such moves develop especially quickly during periods when funding for futures remains positive for a long time and market participants become too confident in opening longs.
Ethereum Became the Center of the Sell-Off
The main source of losses was Ethereum. About $256.8 million in long positions were liquidated in ETH — the largest figure among all cryptocurrencies in 24 hours. Bitcoin took second place. For BTC, the volume of forcibly closed positions was about $180.9 million.
Together, Ethereum and bitcoin accounted for almost two-thirds of the entire liquidation wave in the market. This shows that the pressure came not only on speculative altcoins but also on the largest assets in the sector.
Traders also paid special attention to the largest liquidation of the day on Bitget. There, a position in the ETH/USDT perpetual contract worth about $28.5 million was closed.
The Market Quickly Switched to Defensive Mode
Geopolitics became an additional pressure factor.
After Donald Trump’s statements about possible US strikes on Iran, investors began to actively reduce risky positions ahead of the new trading week. Against this backdrop, the crypto market quickly switched to risk-off mode, when capital moves from volatile assets to more defensive instruments.
Such a reaction is not new for cryptocurrencies. During periods of increased geopolitical uncertainty, the digital asset market often shows heightened sensitivity, especially if there has been strong growth with leverage beforehand.
Bitcoin Fell Below $77,000 Again
Amid the sell-off, bitcoin dropped below $77,000 and deepened its weekly decline. Over the past seven days, BTC lost about 5.6%.
Ethereum fell even more sharply. The price of ETH dropped below $2,120, and the weekly drawdown approached 10%.
At the same time, the altcoin market also came under pressure. Solana lost more than 11% for the week and returned to the range around $85.
Market Overheating Began to Cool Rapidly
Just a few days ago, many traders expected the rally to continue to new local highs. Futures funding remained positive, and open interest in several assets was rising rapidly.
Now the situation is changing. After such a large liquidation wave, the market is starting to clear out overloaded long positions.
For some analysts, this even looks like a potentially healthy process. After a sharp rally, the market often needs to reduce leverage and see more cautious positioning from participants.
But much will depend on the external backdrop. If tensions around Iran continue to escalate, volatility in the crypto market may remain high.
What’s Next?
The coming days will be important for the market structure. Buyers need to quickly return bitcoin above the $77,000–78,000 zone, otherwise pressure on futures positions may persist.
For Ethereum, the key area remains above the $2,120–2,150 range. Returning to this zone will help reduce the risk of further liquidations.
For now, the market remains extremely sensitive to news about geopolitics and the US macroeconomy. And after liquidations of nearly $658 million, traders have clearly become much more cautious with leverage.
Read more: Oil Rose More Than 2% After Trump’s New Statements on Iran
