Crypto logged its largest liquidation on record of more than $19 billion in leveraged positions wiped out in roughly 24 hours, liquidating about 1.6 million traders and producing a $20,000 daily swing in Bitcoin tied to an estimated $380 billion market-cap shock.
Observers note crypto started sliding around 9:30 AM ET on October 11, with large accounts “already loading shorts.” At around 4:30 PM, a single “whale” reportedly added more than $23 million of new shorts, and by 5:20 PM the market hit its intraday nadir where those shorts were closed for roughly $192 million in profit, before a V-shaped rebound.
Approximately $16.7 billion in longs versus $2.5 billion in shorts were liquidated, meaning the vast majority of the 1.6 million forced exits were levered-long accounts. Exchange breakdowns cited show most venues registered 90% long-side liquidations. Hyperliquid alone saw about $10.3 billion, and was also the venue used for roughly $1.1 billion in BTC/ETH shorts tied to the trade that profited into the bottom.
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Binance was still valuing some collateral (USDe, wBETH, BNSOL) using its own spot prices during a transition to oracle pricing scheduled to finish on October 14. At 09:14 PM on Saturday, those tokens crashed on Binance only: USDe to about $0.65 (still $1 elsewhere), wBETH down over 90%, and BNSOL near $0.13. Because users’ borrowing power was tied to those prices, collateral values collapsed instantly, auto-triggering roughly $500 million–$1 billion of margin liquidations that force-sold BTC, ETH, and altcoins into the market.
That first wave smashed into thin late-Friday liquidity, and the selling rippled out as cross-exchange hedges were unwound and bots mirrored the move on other venues. Total forced liquidations climbed above $19 billion, with many altcoins down 50%–70% intraday.
XRP’s market cap fell from about $161 billion at 4:50 PM to roughly $80 billion by 5:20 PM ET, around 50% cut in just 30 minutes.
The velocity of the move produced the first-ever $20,000 daily candlestick in BTC, a data point underscoring depth-of-book stress.
Information for this story was found via the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
