Bitcoin briefly fell below $80,000 on Friday, reaching approximately $79,280 before recovering above the threshold, according to CoinGlass data cited by The Block. The move triggered approximately $404.15 million in cryptocurrency long liquidations over a four-hour period.
Liquidation Breakdown
Total crypto liquidations reached $436.44 million over the four hours, with long positions accounting for the vast majority. Long traders profit when prices rise; when they use leverage, a relatively small adverse move can reduce their margin below an exchange’s required level, forcing the position to close.
The forced closures were concentrated in two bursts: more than $208 million in long positions were liquidated during one 15-minute period, and another $131 million were liquidated in a later burst.
Ether positions accounted for approximately $136.72 million in liquidations over the same window, compared with $158.45 million for Bitcoin. Long positions represented more than 90% of liquidations for both assets.
Binance recorded approximately $226 million in liquidated positions, while decentralized perpetual futures platform Hyperliquid recorded around $70.47 million.
ETF Outflows Add to Cautious Sentiment
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $635.49 million in net outflows on Thursday and another $137.94 million on Friday, bringing the two-day total to about $773 million. The withdrawals followed three consecutive days of net inflows earlier in the week. Despite the late-week reversal, the funds retained approximately $304.73 million in net inflows across the full week.
ETF flows provide one measure of demand for regulated Bitcoin exposure, but they do not independently explain short-term price movements. The reported outflows coincided with the liquidation event; the figures alone do not prove that ETF withdrawals caused it.
Arthur Hayes Reduces Directional Exposure
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said he had closed the directional trading book at his family office, Maelstrom, and taken profits on several tokens, including Ethereum, Ethena and Uniswap. He cited uncertainty surrounding macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions and said he would wait for a clearer signal.
His decision offers an example of a market participant reducing directional exposure, but it does not establish that a broader downturn is inevitable.
The data illustrates how leverage can amplify short-term volatility. Liquidations do not necessarily indicate that every trader has changed their long-term outlook, but they can accelerate selling when many positions are vulnerable at similar price levels. Indicators to watch include Bitcoin’s price stability, derivatives open interest and subsequent ETF flows.
