Bitcoin slid to just above $100,000 late Monday before a slight rebound to $101,000, as a wave of forced liquidations and renewed macro jitters erased billions in speculative positions across crypto markets.
More than $2 billion in futures contracts were liquidated in the past 24 hours, per CoinGlass, with long traders accounting for nearly 80% of the losses at $1.6 billion.
Liquidations occur when traders using borrowed funds are forced to close their positions because their margin falls below required levels. On crypto futures exchanges, this process is automatic, as when prices move sharply against a leveraged trade, the platform sells the position into the open market to cover losses.
Large clusters of long liquidations can signal capitulation and potential short-term bottoms, while heavy short wipeouts may precede local tops as momentum flips.
Traders can also keep track of where liquidation levels are concentrated, helping identify zones of forced activity that can act as near-term support or resistance.
The wipeout marks one of the largest deleveraging events since September, indicative of how fragile positioning has become after weeks of whipsaw price action.
Bitcoin fell 5.5% in the past day and is down more than 10% over the week. Ether dropped 10% to $3,275, while Solana’s SOL and BNB lost 8% and 7% respectively. XRP, Dogecoin and Cardano also slid between 5% and 6%.
The total crypto market capitalization slipped back toward $3.5 trillion, its lowest level in over a month.
“Bitcoin traded around $100,000 today as risk-off sentiment took hold of financial markets, impacting a broad swath of digital assets, stocks, and commodities,” said Gerry O’Shea, head of global market insights at Hashdex, in an email to CoinDesk.
“Recent speculation that the FOMC may pass on another rate cut this year, as well as concerns over tariffs, credit market conditions, and equity valuations, helped drive markets lower. Bitcoin’s recent price trajectory has also been impacted by selling from long-term holders — an expected phenomenon as the asset matures,” O’Shea added.
On exchanges, Bybit accounted for $628 million in liquidations, followed by Hyperliquid with $533 million and Binance at $421 million. The single largest closure was an $11 million BTC-USDT long on HTX.
Despite the volatility, analysts said the broader outlook remains constructive.
“While $100,000 may be a psychologically important support level, we do not view today’s price action as a sign of a weakening long-term investment case for Bitcoin,” O’Shea said.
With the Federal Reserve pausing on further cuts and global risk appetite still fragile, traders say the next few sessions will test whether Bitcoin’s bounce can turn into a sustained recovery — or if another wave of forced selling lies ahead.
