Sleepless In Crypto: $900-M Liquidated Amid Bitcoin’s Steep Fall

[Ben Graham]

A significant plunge in the crypto market has sent shockwaves across the industry over the last 24 hours, leaving a trail of liquidations in its wake. Around 200,000 traders were forced out of their positions as Bitcoin plunged to a seven-week low, wiping out more than $900 million in liquidations over a single day.

According to CoinGlass, most of those losses came from long bets that could not weather the slide.

Liquidations Hit Retail Traders

Reports have disclosed that a single large sale helped set off the cascade. Selling pressure intensified as a large holder offloaded 24,000 BTC, triggering a wave of liquidations, said Rachael Lucas, a crypto analyst at BTC Markets.

On Coinbase, Bitcoin briefly fell below $109,000 — its weakest level since July 9. Market participants felt the shock fast; traders who were long were the ones most exposed.

Macro Signals And Market Reaction

A recent hint from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole about potential interest rate cuts changed how some investors priced risk.

Since August 14, when Bitcoin reached an all-time high just over $124,000, the asset has corrected by over 10%. Based on data, the drop since Powell’s speech is about 7%.

The single-day move was measured at close to 3% decline for Bitcoin, and total crypto market value slipped back below $4 trillion to about $3.83 trillion as almost $200 billion flowed out of the space.

Ether Is Holding Up

Ether traded near $4,340 and, for now, looks steadier than Bitcoin. It did fall, but it did not breach last week’s low. Institutional interest in Ether remains a talking point. According to Lucas, institutions continue to focus on Ethereum, even as traders reassess risk across smaller coins.

Altcoins Took Bigger Hits

Many smaller tokens fell harder than the majors. Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink, and Sui were among the worst hit.

That pushed losses beyond the headline Bitcoin numbers and left traders in altcoin-heavy positions nursing larger drawdowns.

Thin weekend liquidity served to enhance the price gyrations, making the action more extreme than it would have been on a more active trading day.

September’s Track Record And Outlook

There is also a historical component to the tale. September has a history of strong pullbacks in bull markets, with strong corrections in 2017 and 2021.

Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView