Crypto market crashes: forced liquidations exceed $993 million
The cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp downturn, resulting in nearly $1 billion worth of positions being liquidated within 24 hours. According to my analysis of data from leading trading platforms, thousands of traders were affected, with holders of long positions suffering the most severe losses. The total amount of forced closures reached $993.70 million.
A Red Wave Sweeps the Market
The scale of the sell-off was comprehensive. The market heatmap turned red: over the past day, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 4.07%, while Ethereum (ETH) lost 4.91%. Similar negative dynamics affected other key assets. Dogecoin (DOGE) plummeted by 5.86%, XRP by 4.28%, and Solana (SOL) by 4.13%. Even BNB, which traditionally shows relative resilience, lost 3.78%.
It is clear that the problem is systemic and has impacted the entire sector, not just individual coins. By Wednesday evening, the decline partially slowed, with Bitcoin stabilizing around $61,000 and Ethereum recovering to $1,606 after a minor intraday correction.
Longs Suffer Colossal Losses
The main reason for such a rapid collapse was an excess of leveraged positions. The daily liquidation chart clearly shows how buyers, who had bet on a price increase, were massively stopped out of the market. Total losses on long positions amounted to $781.38 million, while short positions suffered significantly less, at $212.32 million.
The biggest blow was taken by the largest centralized and decentralized trading platforms. The distribution of losses across key exchanges is as follows:
- Binance: $432.83 million (43.56% of the market)
- Hyperliquid: $189.76 million (19.10%)
- Bybit: $140.85 million (14.17%)
- Gate: $67.46 million (6.79%)
- OKX: $62.53 million (6.29%)
- Bitget: $46.60 million (4.69%)
Binance recorded an absolute record in terms of closed trade volumes. Notably, the decentralized platform Hyperliquid took second place, surpassing many major centralized services. Bybit rounded out the top three, where traders lost over $140 million.
Bitcoin Hits Resistance at $63,000
The liquidation heatmap for the BTC/USDT pair on Binance shows why a rebound for Bitcoin or Ethereum is currently uncertain. For most of June 23, Bitcoin moved sideways around $63,000 before starting to decline. On June 24, the price continued to fall in steps: Bitcoin dropped to $59,700 and only found support around $60,000. Meanwhile, the chart crossed zones with particularly dense liquidations.
Bright clusters are now located in the $61,500-63,000 range. This area has accumulated many margin positions, which could act as strong resistance if the market attempts to recover. If buyers can regain the initiative and push the price above $63,000, the local bearish scenario will completely lose its relevance. Conversely, a break below the support level of $59,700 would open a clear path for further decline, undoubtedly triggering another massive wave of forced closures.
My analysis: The current situation is a classic example of a "liquidation cascade," where a price drop triggers forced position closures, which in turn amplifies selling pressure. The market is caught between strong resistance above and fragile support below. Investors should exercise extreme caution: volatility is likely to persist until the direction of movement relative to the key levels of $59,700 and $63,000 becomes clear.