Bitcoin slipped just above $100,000 late Monday before a slight rebound to $101,000, as a wave of forced liquidations and fresh macroeconomic tensions wiped out billions of speculative positions in crypto markets.
According to CoinGlass, more than $2 billion in futures contracts were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with long traders accounting for nearly 80% of the losses, or $1.6 billion.
Liquidations occur when traders using borrowed funds are forced to close their positions because their margin falls below required levels. On crypto futures exchanges, this process is automatic, because when prices move sharply relative to a leveraged trade, the platform sells the position on the open market to cover losses.
Large groups of long liquidations can signal capitulation and potential short-term bottoms, while large short-term wipeouts can precede local tops as momentum reverses.
Traders can also track where liquidation levels are concentrated, helping to identify areas of forced activity that may act as short-term support or resistance.
This erasure marks one of the most significant deleveraging events since September, revealing the fragility of the positioning after weeks of price fluctuations.
Bitcoin fell 5.5% over the past day and more than 10% over the week. Ether fell 10% to $3,275, while Solana’s SOL and BNB lost 8% and 7%, respectively. XRP, Dogecoin and Cardano also slipped between 5% and 6%.
The total crypto market cap has returned to $3.5 trillion, its lowest level in over a month.
“Bitcoin traded around $100,000 today as risk aversion gripped financial markets, impacting a wide range of digital assets, stocks and commodities,” Gerry O’Shea, head of global market research at Hashdex, said in an email to CoinDesk.
“Recent speculation that the FOMC could pass on another rate cut this year, along with concerns over tariffs, credit market conditions and equity valuations, have contributed to lower markets. Bitcoin’s recent price trajectory has also been affected by selling by long-term holders – an expected phenomenon as the asset matures,” O’Shea added.
On exchanges, Bybit accounted for $628 million in liquidations, followed by Hyperliquid with $533 million and Binance with $421 million. The largest close was an $11 million BTC-USDT long position on HTX.
Despite the volatility, analysts believe the overall outlook remains positive.
“While $100,000 may be a psychologically important support level, we do not view today’s price action as a sign of a weakening long-term investment case for Bitcoin,” O’Shea said.
As the Federal Reserve halts further cuts and global risk appetite remains fragile, traders say the coming sessions will test whether Bitcoin’s rebound can turn into a sustainable recovery – or whether another wave of forced selling looms.
