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Crypto Longs Lose Over $200 Million in an Hour as Bitcoin Dips
More than $800 million in crypto bets were liquidated over 24 hours, mostly longs, as bitcoin briefly fell below $79,500 on Saturday.
Leveraged crypto traders had more than $800 million in positions forcibly closed over 24 hours on Saturday, and most were bets on higher prices. The figures come from CoinGlass data cited by The Block and BeInCrypto.
The worst stretch came Saturday morning. Both outlets put liquidations at more than $200 million inside a single hour as bitcoin slid under $80,000 and briefly traded below $79,500, its lowest level since Sept. 18. BeInCrypto said longs made up 82.8% of the 24-hour total.
The biggest single loss was an $11.85 million long on Binance's ETH-USDT pair, both reports said. Ether fell harder than bitcoin and dropped to about a two-month low near $2,290.
Why it moved
The selling followed reports that the U.S. was pulling staff out of embassies in the Middle East after an intelligence warning about Iran. Weekend markets are thin. That lets forced selling feed on itself.
Some traders stepped aside before the drop. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, wrote on X early Saturday that he had closed his directional positions. "I dumped it all," he said, adding, "I think we gotta go down to go up."
By 6 p.m. ET, bitcoin had recovered to about $80,355, down 1.2% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Ether sat near $2,339.
Leverage is a great amplifier, and it does not care which direction you picked.
The Federal Reserve meets Oct. 27 and 28, with September PCE inflation data due Oct. 29.
Sources: The Block · BeInCrypto · Arthur Hayes on X · CoinGecko
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