Approximately $800 million in leveraged positions were liquidated across crypto markets over the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for 86% of the total. Contracts linked to semiconductor stocks also contributed substantially to the losses.
Traders betting on SanDisk (SNDK) suffered more forced liquidations than those holding XRP positions, underscoring the growing role of chip-stock speculation on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Across 10 exchanges, liquidations exceeded $800 million as Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $81,000 during early Asian trading.
The selloff intensified during the final 12 hours of the period, when roughly $595 million in positions were closed, representing almost three-quarters of the daily total. The wave coincided with a decline of more than 6% in South Korea’s KOSPI index and Bitcoin’s fall to just under $81,000.
Binance recorded the largest individual liquidation: a $9.65 million Bitcoin long position closed at approximately $81,700. The exchange accounted for around 50% of all liquidations.
Liquidations occur when exchanges automatically close leveraged trades after losses exhaust the collateral supporting them. Long positions, which depend on prices rising, made up $694 million of the total, or 86%.
Bitcoin led the market with $181 million in liquidations, followed closely by ether at $178 million, even though ether has a significantly smaller market capitalization.
Stock-related perpetual futures also experienced substantial losses. SanDisk-linked contracts recorded $19.5 million in liquidations, exceeding the $19 million reported for HYPE and the $18.78 million for XRP.
These contracts allow traders to speculate on stock-price movements at any time through crypto exchanges without a predetermined expiration date.
The liquidation data also included contracts tied to SK Hynix and Micron, alongside SOXL, a U.S. semiconductor ETF that provides three-times leveraged exposure. SOXL positions accounted for $7.21 million in liquidations.
The pressure on chip-linked contracts reflected weakness in South Korea’s technology sector. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares each dropped about 8% as investors grew concerned about AI stock valuations and increasing competition from Chinese memory-chip producers, according to CoinDesk.
Oil markets presented a different pattern. WTI and Brent crude contracts were among the few instruments where short positions accounted for most liquidations. Brent remained near $106 after rising for three consecutive days.
More recently, the liquidation trend shifted toward short sellers. Of the $74 million liquidated over the latest four-hour period, $59 million, or 79%, came from short positions as Bitcoin climbed back above $83,000.
The shift follows a day dominated by losses on bullish bets. With most of the long-position leverage already flushed out, Bitcoin now approaches Thursday’s U.S. inflation report after a significant reduction in leveraged bullish exposure.
