Bitcoin registered an intraday low near $80,000 as a cryptocurrency market decline triggered $1.16 billion in liquidations across derivatives markets over 24 hours. The largest cryptocurrency traded around $80,744, down 3% over the preceding day and approximately 4% over the past week, extending losses from a recent attempt to reclaim $87,000.
Bullish positions accounted for $1 billion of the liquidations, compared with $108 million in short positions. The pressure intensified in recent hours, with CoinGlass recording nearly $700 million in liquidations over a four-hour period, including $650 million in long positions. A total of 166,769 traders were liquidated during the 24-hour span.
Ethereum Leads Liquidation Losses
Although Bitcoin dominated market attention, Ethereum suffered the largest liquidation losses among major cryptocurrencies. Approximately $324 million in Ethereum positions were liquidated over 24 hours, compared with $240 million in Bitcoin positions. Ethereum fell below $2,500, down 4% over the day and approximately 9.3% over the week. The largest individual liquidation occurred on Hyperliquid, where traders closed an ETH-USD position worth approximately $20 million.
Other major assets sustained significant declines. Solana fell 7.2% to approximately $108.61, XRP declined 5.7% to $1.35, BNB fell 4.9%, and Zcash posted one of the steepest declines among major cryptocurrencies at 14%.
Elevated Leverage Preceded the Selloff
The liquidation cascade followed warnings about stretched leverage in altcoin markets. In an Oct. 7 weekly market report, Glassnode observed that a growing share of large-cap altcoins carried unusually elevated open interest relative to their market capitalization, reaching levels not seen since before an October 2025 market crash. This positioning left traders vulnerable to forced liquidations as prices declined.
Recent Holders Move Bitcoin to Exchanges at Losses
On-chain activity reflected deteriorating sentiment among short-term Bitcoin holders. According to CryptoQuant, short-term holders transferred more than 50,000 BTC to exchanges at the 24-hour daily peak, with more than 29,500 BTC transferred at a loss—approximately 59% of the cohort's exchange inflows. CryptoQuant reported these losses were the largest recorded among short-term holders in nearly four months.
Large exchange deposits can signal selling intentions, particularly when investors move assets at a loss. The shift from profit-taking that accompanied Bitcoin's recent advance above $85,000 to loss-associated transfers suggests the market retreat is increasingly affecting recent participants.
Support Test at $81,000
The immediate question is whether Bitcoin can find sufficient demand near $81,000 to stabilize prices. Glassnode identified a substantial concentration of resting buy orders between $81,000 and $81,250 on Binance's spot order book, accumulated since Oct. 3. The firm identified this area as an important support zone after Bitcoin failed to overcome sell orders between $86,500 and $86,750 and subsequently lost support around $85,000.
However, bid concentration does not guarantee price stability. Glassnode's derivatives analysis identified a large concentration of potential liquidation levels between $81,700 and $83,300, with another significant cluster near $75,000. A sustained break below the $81,000 bid zone could direct attention to deeper liquidation clusters.
