$BTC $ETH 《Cryptocurrency Market Experiences Severe Volatility: $1.195 Billion Liquidation in 24 Hours, Long and Short Battle Dominated by Bears》
On October 17, the cryptocurrency market faced severe fluctuations. According to Coinglass data, the total amount of liquidations across the network in the past 24 hours reached $1.195 billion, with long positions liquidating $307 million and short positions liquidating $888 million, reflecting the absolute dominance of bearish forces. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) were the hardest hit, recording liquidation amounts of $453 million and $281 million, respectively, while major cryptocurrencies like BNB and Solana also saw declines exceeding 6%.
Three main characteristics behind market volatility:
1. Extreme Leverage Triggers a Cascade
After Bitcoin fell below the $108,000 mark, high-leverage positions accelerated liquidation. A certain crypto whale opened a $100 million ETH short position with 25x leverage within 10 hours, alongside Solana short and ENA long positions, directly causing the ETH perpetual contract long-short ratio to plummet from 1.2 to 0.9. A Morgan Stanley report indicated that the open interest in perpetual futures dropped by 40% in one week, far exceeding the decline in spot prices, showing panic withdrawal by native investors.
2. Differentiation of Strategies Between Institutions and Retail Investors
Traditional funds maintain stable positions through spot ETFs (Bitcoin ETF net outflow is only 0.14%), while retail investors' high-frequency leveraged trading becomes the main force behind liquidations. The gold-pegged token PAXG saw a 15.8% abnormal spike on the Binance platform, with over 80% of short positions liquidated within 4 hours, reflecting extremely fragile market sentiment.
3. External Risk Transmission Intensifies Volatility
U.S. stocks fell due to banking fraud incidents, combined with tight U.S. dollar liquidity, leading to a flight to safety into U.S. Treasuries and gold, while cryptocurrencies were sold off. Uncertainties in international political situations and trade wars further amplified market volatility.
• High Leverage Operations: Leverage exceeding 25 times accounts for over 35%, and a 1% price fluctuation can trigger forced liquidation;
• External Correlation: The correlation between crypto assets and traditional financial markets has strengthened, with U.S. stock fluctuations directly transmitting to the crypto space.
Industry insiders suggest that investors reduce leverage multiples and choose decentralized platforms to diversify risks. As $43 billion in options contracts approach expiration, the market is expected to maintain high volatility in the short term.
