Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies slide as liquidations top $771 million

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Bitcoin, crypto slide on liquidations

Highlights

Crypto liquidations total $771 million in 24 hours, with $685.6 million from long positions as Bitcoin falls 2.8% to $81,382 and Ethereum drops 4.6%.
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs see $681.1 million in net outflows and Ethereum ETFs face $542 million outflows last week, marking the weakest institutional flows since June.
Kospi drops 6.1% amid spillover into crypto markets, while strategics like Strategy and Bitmine Immersion Technologies continue treasury accumulation of Bitcoin and Ethereum despite volatility.

Market sell-off and liquidation pressure

As reported by The Block, citing CoinGlass, crypto liquidations amount to $771 million over the past 24 hours, including $685.6 million in long positions, underscoring the scale of the latest market retreat.

Bitcoin trades at $81,382 as of 9:20 p.m. ET Monday, down 2.8% over the past 24 hours and lower than the roughly $84,200 level seen earlier in the day. Ethereum falls 4.6% to $2,425, while Zcash records the sharpest drop among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, down 10.4% at $1,149. Solana loses 7.5% and XRP declines 6.4%.

Within the past 12 hours alone, total liquidations reach $631.8 million, with $600 million tied to long positions. Liquidations occur when traders' positions are forcibly closed after losses erode margin below required maintenance levels, though publicly available data can understate the total scale of market stress.

Dominick John, analyst at Zeus Research, says bitcoin's pullback reflects a mix of macroeconomic headwinds, cooling institutional demand and risk-off positioning ahead of key U.S. inflation data. He adds that elevated Treasury yields and a stronger dollar are weighing on risk appetite, while roughly $600 million in spot BTC ETF outflows signal weaker institutional inflows.

ETF flows and broader market spillover

SoSoValue data show U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs record $681.1 million in net outflows last week, their worst week since late June. Spot Ethereum ETFs also post $542 million in net outflows over the same period, adding to signs of softer institutional appetite for crypto exposure.

Outside digital assets, South Korean equities fall sharply on Tuesday morning in Asia, with the Kospi down 6.1% as of 10:45 a.m. local time. Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee says on X that the steep decline in Korean equities could be spilling over into crypto.

Justin d'Anethan, head of research at Arctic Digital, says the recent drop does not invalidate the view that crypto may have marked a bottom or could still be in a broader bull run. In his view, the current move instead points to recalibration and the possible formation of a new support zone.

Corporate treasury buying continues despite the sell-off. Earlier on Monday, Strategy discloses that it acquires an additional 250 BTC for about $21.5 million at an average price of $86,194 per bitcoin between Oct. 5 and Oct. 11, while Bitmine Immersion Technologies says it increases its Ethereum treasury to 6,028,946 ETH after buying 12,532 tokens over the past week.

In our earlier article on the S&P 500’s four-year bull market, we examined how an AI-led rally has kept U.S. equities near record highs, even as narrowing breadth and higher bond yields test the advance. We also noted that lofty tech earnings expectations and rate-sensitive sentiment are becoming key swing factors for broader risk appetite.

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