A single trader lost 201 BTC, worth approximately $15.6 million, in eight successive liquidations as a sharp Wall Street selloff rattled crypto markets, according to Lookonchain.
The episode shows how quickly high leverage can erase large positions during sudden market swings. A liquidation occurs when an exchange forcibly closes a leveraged position because the trader’s margin can no longer cover losses, often during sharp price moves.
Broader market damage
According to CoinGlass data, 209,826 traders faced liquidation in 24 hours, totaling $1.08 billion. Long positions accounted for $956 million, or 88% of the total, while shorts contributed only $130.78 million.
Bitcoin led with $282.37 million in liquidations, followed by Ethereum at $173.75 million. Notably, 89.4% of the Bitcoin liquidations came from long positions. Binance captured the largest share of overall liquidations at 44.3%.
Wall Street selloff spills over
The stress started on Wall Street. On November 5, the Nasdaq Composite plunged nearly 5% intraday, marking its worst session in months. AI and chip stocks led the decline amid post-midterm uncertainty and growing doubts about the AI boom. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell roughly 3.8%.
That rout quickly spread to crypto markets. Bitcoin had briefly climbed above $80,000 after the election results, but then reversed sharply and dropped to a low of $75,572. Ethereum hit a low of $2,239, while Solana lost 5.9%. The largest single liquidation was a $10.94 million ETH long on Binance.
Sentiment cools but remains neutral
Sentiment has cooled but not collapsed. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stands at a neutral 50, compared with 73, or greed, last month. Just a day earlier, the index had dropped to 34, signaling fear.
For now, concentrated long exposure leaves the market vulnerable to further equity market shocks, and traders will likely watch Wall Street closely in the coming sessions.
