Bitcoin’s BTC$108,309.92 Bidirectional price action has weighed on both leveraged bullish and bearish plays, highlighting tough market conditions for traders.
Over the past 24 hours, the price of BTC has fluctuated between $107,000 and $113,000, erasing around $600 million in bets on bullish and bearish futures across the market. The wave of liquidations came as traders reduced leverage across major exchanges, with about $355 million in long positions and $301 million in short positions closed in 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass.
Bitcoin accounted for the majority of the damage, with more than $340 million, followed by Ether. Ethereum$3,870.50 For $200 million. Solana sol$184.53, XRP$2.4066and doge$0.1916 Each of them, including the top losers, has experienced forced liquidation of tens of millions of people.
Such flashes are often seen after large price movements. Leveraged positions on perpetual futures exchanges are automatically closed when a trader’s margin level falls below the maintenance threshold, often resulting in cascading price movements when the position is sold in an illiquid state.
Large liquidations serve as a key indicator of near-term turning points in market sentiment.
“Despite the sharp decline in Bitcoin over the past 24 hours, our positioning on our futures platform has actually remained stable,” said Alexia Theodore, head of derivatives at Kraken. “After hitting the local low on October 6th, Bitcoin perpetual long/short ratio has returned to neutral territory.”
“Recent volatility has pushed Kraken derivatives trading to record levels, but despite widespread bearish conditions, our data suggests that many traders believe the sell-off has been overdone and are cautiously positioning for potential upside. Although conditions remain fragile, a more balanced market is emerging after the initial wave of capitulation,” Theodore added.
emotions remain fragile
BTC’s sharp pullback from overnight highs of over $113,000 marks an abrupt end to the recovery from the October 10 lows and shows how fragile the market remains heading into the final period of October.
Perhaps the market is still digesting the aftermath of last month’s deleveraging shock.
“The bulls have been unable to push the market above recent highs and we are seeing an active short-term downtrend forming,” said Alex Kupczykevich, chief market analyst at FXPro.
“Bitcoin at $108,000 has once again fallen to its 200-day moving average. A spring scenario of prolonged consolidation around this line and further breakout looks like a hopeful case for bulls,” he added.
Major altcoins followed BTC’s decline, with ETH holding near $3,870 and SOL down 9% for the week. BNB and XRP posted modest gains after outperforming in the early sessions, while meme coins such as DOGE posted sharp drawdowns as speculation flow dwindled.
“The sharp intraday fluctuations in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major altcoins reflect cautious market sentiment,” said Wenny Kai, co-founder and COO of SynFutures. “After yesterday’s brief recovery, traders are back to reacting to macro cues such as rising bond yields, geopolitical uncertainty, and thin liquidity. In this type of environment, even small changes in risk appetite can cause large moves.”
Despite the red screen, data from Glassnode and ETF flow trackers suggest that structural demand has not collapsed. Spot ETF inflows remain steady, exchange balances are near cycle lows, and long-term holders continue to accumulate.
Traders are now focused on the Fed’s Oct. 29 meeting, with most expecting borrowing costs to be cut by 25 basis points. The central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points in September.