The cryptocurrency market suffered its biggest flash crash since October 2025, wiping out $108 billion in market value in just six minutes. Total market capitalization dropped from $2.68 trillion to $2.55 trillion as selling pressure intensified across the board.
Massive Liquidations and Derivatives Impact
According to data from CoinGlass, 281,846 traders were liquidated over a 24-hour period, resulting in approximately $1.71 billion in total losses. The vast majority of the damage came from long positions. Within a four-hour window, $574 million was wiped out as Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies experienced sharp declines.
The derivatives market was heavily affected, with total open interest falling by $3.34 billion, or 5.18%, down to approximately $55.60 billion. Over the four days leading up to the crash, more than $4.5 billion in long positions were liquidated across the crypto sector, marking the seventh-largest liquidation event in cryptocurrency history.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP Lead Declines
Bitcoin initially rallied from $63,600 to $79,500, which triggered approximately $2.7 billion in short liquidations. However, a trend reversal on August 22 placed heavy pressure on leveraged long positions. Bitcoin dropped to around $76,500 in six minutes, resulting in $257.77 million in long position liquidations. Its recent high near $78,800 now serves as the primary resistance level.
Ethereum also faced significant selling pressure, logging roughly $293.34 million in liquidations as its price fell to about $2,426. XRP experienced the steepest price decline among the major assets, dropping roughly 12% from $1.70 to $1.51 and triggering about $121.71 million in liquidations.
Altcoin Market and Analyst Outlook
Altcoins sustained heavy losses alongside major tokens. The TOTAL3 market cap, which tracks the cryptocurrency market excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, plummeted from $784 billion to $731 billion in a single candle. This wiped out roughly $53 billion, or about 6.7%, in minutes.
Despite the steep drop, crypto analyst The Martini Guy noted that Bitcoin's broader uptrend remains intact provided it maintains key support. Having previously broken through levels at $67,200 and $70,500, the analyst highlighted $70,500 as the critical support level to watch, noting that holding above this threshold could allow the wider recovery to continue.
