Crypto Liquidations Surge to $628 Million in One Hour Amid Binance Outflow

Cryptocurrency liquidations reached $627.7 million in a single hour late Thursday, with $606.6 million of that volume coming from long positions, according to Coinglass data. The spike occurred as traders reacted to an unexplained $2 billion outflow from Binance hot wallets.

Bitcoin dropped below $79,000 and Ethereum fell below $2,240 during the move. No hack has been confirmed, and Binance has not publicly commented on the transfers.

Price Movement Timeline

Bitcoin traded near $80,800 on Binance at 20:00 UTC before falling to approximately $78,300 by 20:35 UTC—a decline of roughly 3% within a single candle—before recovering above $79,100. Ethereum slid from about $2,335 to a low near $2,233, a drop of more than 4%, before bouncing to approximately $2,263.

The timing aligned with on-chain activity. The first transfer out of Binance's 14 wallet occurred at 20:24 UTC, with the sharpest price movement following within 15 minutes.

Liquidation Breakdown

Bitcoin long positions accounted for $189.1 million in liquidations during the hour, while Ethereum positions totaled $156.8 million. Solana came third at $46.8 million. Short sellers, who profit from price declines, lost only $21.1 million combined.

The largest single forced closure was an $11.09 million Bitcoin long on Binance at $79,254. Binance itself accounted for $344.8 million of the total liquidations—more than half. Hyperliquid followed with $97 million and Bybit with $77.3 million.

Over 24 hours, liquidations totaled $951.2 million across 161,647 traders, with two-thirds of that damage occurring in the final hour.

Market Context

Bitcoin had already struggled to maintain strength, having failed to hold $83,000 the previous week. The breach at Binance, the largest exchange by volume, carried heightened risk compared to decentralized finance exploits, as stolen exchange funds are typically sold and further price movements can occur with each transfer from receiving addresses.