Ether Liquidations Surge to $356 Million After Market Flash
The biggest hit came from ETH longs, with heavy liquidations also in SOL and XRP. Hyperliquid recorded the largest single position, while macro pressure added to the sell-off.
Key Takeaways
- Ether traders took the hardest hit in a late market flash crash, with about $356 million in ETH liquidations over 24 hours.
- In total, $1.19 billion in crypto positions were liquidated, more than $1 billion of which came from longs.
- SOL, XRP, and NEAR were also hit hard, while macro pressure and rate worries added to the nervousness.
A late drop on Thursday hit ether traders the hardest. Over 24 hours, about $356 million (€318 million) in ETH positions were liquidated, more than Bitcoin. In total, the blow to the crypto market came to $1.19 billion (€1.1 billion).
Ether Takes the Hardest Hit
Ether fell more than 3% to around $2,490 (€2,230). Bitcoin lost about 1% over the same period and dropped from around $83,200 (€74,400) to as low as about $80,400 (€71,900). That difference stands out because Bitcoin's market value is more than five times larger than Ether's.
Measured by size, Ether took much bigger hits. Converted, that came to about $1.2 million (€1.1 million) in liquidations per $1 billion (€0.9 billion) of market value, compared with about $180,000 (€160,900) for Bitcoin. The largest single liquidation was an Ether position of nearly $20 million (€17.9 million) on Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange for leveraged trading.
Leverage Worked Against Longs
Of the $1.19 billion (€1.1 billion) in liquidations, more than $1 billion (€0.9 billion) came from longs, meaning traders who were betting on higher prices. That fits a market where many positions were built with borrowed money. When the price turns, the exchange automatically closes those positions, and that can add extra selling pressure.
Besides ETH and BTC, other tokens were hit hard too. SOL accounted for another $71 million (€63.5 million) in liquidations, XRP for $34 million (€30.4 million), and NEAR for $25 million (€22.3 million). The rest of the market added another roughly $119 million (€106 million) combined.
Why This Matters
For European crypto investors, this shows how quickly leverage can amplify a move, especially in a market where many traders are leaning the same way at once. The mix of macro pressure, higher oil prices, and rate worries can make risk assets extra vulnerable. Ethereum researcher Justin Drake's warning about possible AI risks for crypto wallets also did nothing to calm the market.
Recent trading also fits a market where liquidity in ether has gotten thinner. CoinGecko already saw in the third quarter that the market had thinned more than bitcoin, which means bigger price moves can feed into liquidations faster.
