In an unprecedented sell-off, the crypto universe was rocked Friday with over $2 billion in positions liquidated in minutes. Bitcoin plummeted below $83,000, Ethereum sank beneath $2,800, and confidence in digital assets was battered as major tokens reeled from cascading losses.
Traders Wiped Out
According to exchange and on-chain data, more than 390,000 accounts were wiped out during the ordeal. One staggering order on Hyperliquid reached $37 million as panicked traders scrambled to stem losses. Bitcoin bore the brunt, with roughly $962 million in BTC positions liquidated within 24 hours. Of those, long positions accounted for nearly $931 million, magnifying the pain felt by bullish investors.
Macro Moves Trigger Chaos
A strong US jobs report added fuel to the fire, removing the likelihood of a December rate cut. The shock news alone triggered $450 million in liquidations within two hours, exposing vulnerabilities in trading systems and risk management protocols. “The macro surprise appears to have fed directly into traders’ risk management systems,” the report notes.
Options Expiry, Altcoins Dive
Compounding the rout, more than $4.2 billion of crypto options were set to expire. Over 39,000 Bitcoin options, worth $3.4 billion, awaited expiry, sparking frantic hedging. The 24-hour put-call ratio soared to 1.36, signalling bearish bets. Ether options also loomed large, with 185,000 contracts worth $525 million expiring and prices far beneath their max pain level of $3,200.
Altcoins were not spared. Solana tumbled 11% to $126, XRP slumped over 8% to $1.91, and tokens like ASTER, DOGE, and ZEC suffered substantial drops, confirming the breadth of the market reversal.
Whale Liquidations Spotlight Risk
Whale accounts were decimated. PeckShieldAlert flagged a single ETH long liquidation at $6.52 million, while Lookonchain reported that one once-legendary trader’s profit had plunged from $100M to just $30.4M. “In just 10 days, over $61M in profit has vanished,” they reported, illustrating how the volatility vaporized fortunes across the board.
Friday’s brutal crypto crash has shaken confidence and redrawn the lines in digital markets. With billions lost, traders and investors now face a dramatically changed financial landscape, a stark reminder of the risks lurking in the volatile world of cryptocurrency.
