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The $1 billion crypto liquidations warning – 3 signs another flash crash is coming!

Is the market heading for another liquidation wave?

The $1 billion crypto liquidations warning - 3 signs another flash crash is coming!

Key Takeaways

Crypto liquidations hiked as BTC and altcoins took a hit on the price charts. Rising Bitcoin derivatives and OI revealed growing speculative heat, setting the stage for another round of liquidations.


A few days ago, Bitcoin [BTC] tumbled down from $124k to sub-$118k, sparking $961 million in liquidations. Notably, $821 million of that hit leveraged longs.

Clearly, bulls chasing a breakout got trapped, sweeping long liquidity clusters and piling pressure on the price. At press time, BTC was priced at $115k following a 2% intraday dip, with two fat liquidity clusters stacking up.

So, are we staring down another bloodbath?

Bitcoin rotation sparks derivatives frenzy

A $1 billion crypto liquidation hit as the market pulled back across the board. TOTAL2 (ex-BTC market cap) dropped by 3.84% – A sign that capital bled out of altcoins too. In short, it wasn’t just a BTC-led move.

Now, Bitcoin dominance [BTC.D] has been trying to reclaim ground lately, consolidating around 59% for a week with a 0.40% intraday pop. Meanwhile, TOTAL2 slid by 2.74%, confirming the rotation back into BTC.

Derivatives are catching up too. BTC Open Interest jumped by nearly $380 million in under 48 hours, with the Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR) ticking north and hinting at rising speculative heat.

Bitcoin ELR
Source: CryptoQuant

All in all, the market’s rotating back into Bitcoin, altcoins are bleeding, dominance is holding around 59%, and derivatives are heating up. It looks like volatility could spike soon.

Supporting this, in the last 24 hours, total crypto liquidations hit $563 million, with $485 million crushed from leveraged longs. That’s a serious 85%+ hit on bulls overextended in the long leverage game.

So, is the market sending the wrong signal? That minor 0.40% BTC.D pop, combined with a spike in leveraged flow over spot – Are we gearing up for another $1 billion crypto liquidation?

Another round of crypto liquidations looms

Well, looks like Bitcoin’s Open Interest (OI) isn’t playing along with the price. Even with a 4% drop off its $124k ATH in a day, OI’s holding above $80 billion – Marking a clear divergence from previous cycles.

Historically, BTC tops have synced with OI peaks, with the OI rolling over as the BTC was sold off – Evidence of traders unwinding leverage. Take May’s run, for instance – BTC hit a then-ATH of $111k with an OI of $81 billion. 

The next day, the OI tanked to $77 billion as BTC slid to $107k, sparking a broader crypto liquidation wave. This time around, even with BTC nearly 8% off its ATH, the OI hasn’t been topped.

Crypto liquidations
Source: Coinglass

What it means is that the market hasn’t started full deleveraging yet. Traders are still loaded, with 60%+ long skew on Binance’s BTC/USDT perpetual trade.

Bottom line – The setup’s primed for another round of crypto liquidations if BTC takes a dip. OI is still climbing, and with volume spiking on what looks like a false bullish signal, another $1 billion+ wipeout feels almost baked in.

Disclaimer: AMBCrypto's content is meant to be informational in nature and should not be interpreted as investment advice. Trading, buying or selling cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk investment and every reader is advised to do their own research before making any decisions.

Ritika Gupta

Journalist

Ritika Gupta is a coin-based journalist at AMBCrypto who focuses on how economic and political trends impact cryptocurrencies. A social sciences graduate from Gargi College, she reports on AI, DeFi, Web3, and blockchain, using her hands-on experience to turn complex crypto developments into clear, practical insights for readers.

AMBCrypto was founded in 2018 with a mission to simplify and bring the latest blockchain and cryptocurrency news to our readers. We have quickly grown into the digital news source for an emerging generation of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, reaching more than a million readers on a monthly basis, across the globe.