Bitcoin Drop Ends Up Liquidating $500M Bullish Bets in Early Asia Trading

Crypto markets were hit with a fresh wave of forced liquidations early Monday as nearly $646 million in leveraged positions were wiped out across major exchanges, adding to the month’s bruising close and extending losses in bitcoin, ether and large-cap altcoins.

Coinglass data shows longs made up almost 90% of the total, with the largest single liquidation a $14.48 million ETH-USDC order on Binance.

Binance, Hyperliquid and Bybit each recorded more than $160 million in liquidations, reflecting heavy positioning that snapped during the Asian session.

Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open).

A cascade of liquidations often indicates market extremes, where a price reversal could be imminent as market sentiment overshoots in one direction.

Bitcoin fell more than 5% to around $86,000 while ether slid over 6% to near $2,815. Both tokens had attempted a mild rebound late last week, but the forced unwinds dragged prices back toward the lower end of November’s range.

Solana, XRP, BNB and Dogecoin dropped between 4% and 7% in the same period, while Cardano and Lido Staked Ether posted deeper losses. Traders pointed to thin liquidity and ongoing macro uncertainty as contributors to the speed of the move.

The market has been struggling to stabilize after a rapid drawdown through late November, when macro signals, ETF outflows and weak weekend volumes combined to unwind weeks of crowded positioning.

Monday’s purge followed the same pattern seen during earlier selloffs this year: heavy long exposure builds into resistance, funding shifts, and a cascade of forced selling pushes major assets lower within hours.

Open interest across BTC and ETH perpetuals slipped further after the rout, suggesting some of the leverage that built up during the October rally continues to wash out.

Traders say positioning now looks cleaner, but with risk appetite still fragile, intraday swings are likely to remain elevated until liquidity improves during the U.S. session.