Crypto Liquidations Top $800 Million in 24 Hours
More than $800 million in leveraged trading positions were liquidated across 10 exchanges over a 24-hour period as Bitcoin briefly fell below $81,000. The selloff affected cryptocurrency derivatives as well as contracts linked to technology stocks, with SanDisk stock perpetual futures recording greater liquidations than XRP.
Bitcoin dropped to just under $81,000 during early Asian trading before recovering later in the session. The liquidation wave intensified alongside a sharp decline in South Korean equities, where the KOSPI index fell more than 6%. According to the reported figures, approximately $595 million in positions were liquidated during the final 12 hours of the period, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the daily total.
The largest individual liquidation was a Bitcoin long position worth $9.65 million on Binance, closed at approximately $81,700. Binance accounted for around half of all reported liquidations, underscoring how concentrated trading activity on a major exchange can be during periods of volatility.
Long Positions Account for 86% of Liquidations
Most of the losses came from traders betting that prices would rise. Long positions accounted for approximately $694 million, or 86% of total liquidations. These positions are particularly vulnerable when prices move sharply downward, especially when traders use borrowed funds or high leverage.
A liquidation occurs when an exchange forcibly closes a leveraged position after losses reduce the trader’s margin below the required level. Margin is the collateral supporting a trade. When that collateral is no longer sufficient under the exchange’s rules, the position can be closed automatically to limit further losses.
Bitcoin led the reported liquidation figures with $181 million, while Ether followed closely at $178 million. The figures illustrate how sharp market moves can affect both major cryptocurrencies and smaller or more specialized derivatives markets, though the reported dollar totals do not measure the amount of money traders initially invested.
SanDisk Perpetual Contracts Record More Liquidations Than XRP
One of the more notable details was the performance of stock-linked contracts. Perpetual futures tracking SanDisk (SNDK), the U.S. memory-chip maker, recorded approximately $19.5 million in liquidations over the 24-hour period. That exceeded the $19 million reported for HYPE and the $18.78 million recorded for XRP.
The figures highlight how crypto exchanges have expanded beyond conventional cryptocurrency derivatives to include contracts that track traditional financial assets. Binance, for example, announced the launch of its SNDKUSDT equity perpetual contract in April 2026. The official Binance contract announcement states that the product tracks SanDisk common stock, settles in USDT and supports trading around the clock, with leverage of up to 10 times under the announced specifications.
Perpetual futures do not have a fixed expiry date. They allow traders to take leveraged positions on price movements, but they can also expose users to rapid losses if the market moves against them. These products provide price exposure through derivatives and should not automatically be treated as equivalent to owning the underlying company’s shares.
South Korean Chip Selloff Adds to Market Pressure
The liquidation surge coincided with a steep selloff in South Korea’s technology sector. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each fell roughly 8%, as investors reacted to concerns about artificial intelligence-related valuations and competition from Chinese memory-chip producers.
The declines weighed on the broader KOSPI index, which dropped more than 6% intraday. The timing overlapped with Bitcoin’s move below $81,000 and the resulting wave of forced closures in leveraged markets.
SanDisk, SK Hynix and Micron-related contracts appeared among the affected stock-linked derivatives. The report also listed $7.21 million in liquidations for SOXL, a U.S. semiconductor exchange-traded fund designed to provide triple-leveraged exposure to its underlying semiconductor index. Such leveraged products can amplify both gains and losses, making price swings particularly consequential.
The simultaneous declines show that stress extended across crypto and technology-linked markets. However, the overlap alone does not prove that the stock selloff directly caused every crypto liquidation.
Oil Contracts See a Different Liquidation Pattern
Oil-linked contracts showed a different balance between bullish and bearish positions. The report said short positions accounted for most liquidations in WTI and Brent crude contracts, even as Brent crude held near $106 per barrel after a three-day rally.
A short position generally benefits when an asset’s price falls. If the price instead rises, short traders may face losses and can be forced to close their positions. The reported oil-market liquidations therefore contrasted with the heavy losses among bullish crypto traders during Bitcoin’s decline.
The figures reflect a market in which the direction of price movements varied by asset. While many crypto and technology-linked positions were caught on the wrong side of the downturn, oil traders betting against rising prices faced pressure during Brent’s rally.
Bitcoin’s Recovery Triggers Short Liquidations
The liquidation pattern changed during the final four-hour window covered by the report. Of the $74 million liquidated in that period, approximately $59 million, or 79%, came from short positions. This shift occurred as Bitcoin climbed back above $83,000.
The reversal illustrates how quickly liquidation pressure can change direction. Falling prices can force bullish traders out of leveraged positions, while a subsequent rebound can put bearish traders at risk. Liquidations can also contribute to short-term price movements as exchanges close positions and execute the necessary trades.
The report’s figures suggest that much of the day’s long-position leverage had been cleared during the decline, followed by a period in which short sellers accounted for most recent liquidations. That does not establish that the market has stabilized or that another move in either direction is imminent.
U.S. Inflation Data Remains in Focus
The liquidation episode unfolded ahead of a U.S. inflation report that traders were monitoring for potential implications for interest-rate expectations and broader market sentiment. Inflation data can influence expectations for Federal Reserve policy, which in turn may affect bond yields, the U.S. dollar, equities and cryptocurrencies.
For leveraged traders, scheduled economic releases can bring additional uncertainty because prices may move quickly when new information differs from expectations. The liquidation figures offer a snapshot of positions forced to close during the reported period, rather than a reliable prediction of future market direction.
The main takeaway is the scale and breadth of the selloff: more than $800 million in positions were liquidated, long trades accounted for 86% of the total, and SanDisk-linked perpetual futures recorded greater liquidations than XRP. Bitcoin’s subsequent recovery then shifted the immediate pressure toward short positions, showing how quickly leveraged trading conditions can change.
