Bitcoin crash wipes out billions as traders face largest liquidation day of the year
Bitcoin experienced one of its sharpest falls of the year over the weekend, as prices plunged by 15.7% on 10 October from $121,000 to $102,000 across major centralised exchanges. The Bitcoin crash triggered a wave of forced liquidations worth more than $19 billion, marking the single largest wipeout of leveraged positions in the crypto market this year.
According to data from CoinGlass, total open interest in digital assets fell by 29.7%, sliding from $220 billion to $155 billion in a matter of hours. The shockwaves rippled across exchanges, forcing traders to close positions at record speed.
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The volatility exposed structural weaknesses in parts of the market. Several assets on Binance, including USDE, BNSOL and WBETH, saw steep depegs, with USDE briefly falling to $0.65. Even decentralised platforms were hit. The Lighter perpetuals exchange went offline for more than four hours as liquidations accelerated.
While Bitcoin prices stabilised around $111,000 over the weekend and have since recovered to $115,500, many traders remain on edge. Some have criticised Binance over the depegging incidents, describing the market response as “chaotic” and “uncoordinated”.
“This kind of cascading liquidation is exactly what over-leveraged markets look like,” one London-based trader said. “The speed at which billions were wiped out was remarkable, even by crypto standards.”
Not every digital asset was caught in the storm. ZEC, DASH and BNB remained relatively stable on the day of the crash, with BNB even climbing to an all-time high of $1,370, despite mounting criticism of the exchange that issued it.
For long-term Bitcoin holders, the sell-off may prove to be a sharp correction rather than a trend reversal. But the scale of the liquidations has once again exposed how quickly speculative positions can unravel.
For live liquidation and open-interest data, see the official CoinGlass dashboard.
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