Market tone: Bearish
Vivian Nguyen · Crypto Briefing · 2026-10-09T04:09:19.000Z
Photo: Gonzalo Facello / Pexels
Ether bets were wiped out at six times Bitcoin's rate as leveraged longs ran into Fed commentary and broken support levels
Crypto’s leveraged traders had a rough October 8. More than $1 billion in positions were forcibly closed across the market within 24 hours.
Ether took the worst of it. CoinDesk reported that ether bets were wiped out at six times Bitcoin’s rate during the flush, and some estimates put ETH liquidations near $356 million.
The damage, by the numbers
Estimates of ether liquidations vary. They run from approximately $318 million to $335 million, with some tallies climbing toward $356 million.
Bitcoin’s figure landed between roughly $215 million and $300 million over the same window.
The losses were overwhelmingly one-sided. Long positions, meaning bets that prices would rise, made up 85% to 95% of total liquidations across the market.
The pain was widespread. Somewhere between 100,000 and 190,000 traders were affected during peak trading periods.
The activity was concentrated on Binance, Bybit, OKX and Hyperliquid. Binance captured more than 50% of ETH trading volume in some reports.
How a liquidation cascade works
In derivatives trading, traders post a slice of collateral to control a much larger position. If prices move against them far enough, the exchange closes the position automatically to cover the loan.
The news moving money, markets, and the world—before your day starts.
Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Those forced closures turn into market sell orders. Selling pushes prices lower, which triggers the next tier of liquidations, which pushes prices lower again.
Ether’s actual price drop during the event was approximately 4% to 5.7%. For traders running high leverage, a mid-single-digit move is more than enough to wipe out collateral.
The selloff came from two directions at once. On the macro side, Federal Reserve commentary added pressure to risk assets.
On the technical side, key price levels gave way. ETH fell below $2,500, while Bitcoin slipped below $81,000.
Bitcoin also broke through support levels in the $81,000 to $84,000 range. Many traders set stop-losses and liquidation thresholds just under these well-watched levels. Round numbers like $2,500 are popular places for that kind of cluster.
Why ether got hit harder
Ether tends to behave as a higher-beta asset than Bitcoin, meaning it usually moves more, in both directions, when the broader market swings. Higher-beta assets attract traders looking for bigger returns, who often reach for more leverage to amplify those moves.
The disparity between ETH and Bitcoin liquidations suggests positioning in ether was more stretched heading into the selloff.
What this means for traders and investors
For active traders, the lesson is about positioning, not direction. With longs making up 85% to 95% of liquidations, the market was clearly tilted one way.
The concentration on a handful of venues also matters. With Binance handling more than half of ETH volume in some reports, liquidation engines on a single platform can shape how violently prices move.
For long-term holders who don’t use leverage, spot holders saw a 4% to 5.7% drawdown in ether. Liquidation cascades can drag spot prices lower than fundamentals alone would justify.
The levels to watch are the ones that broke. ETH reclaiming $2,500 and Bitcoin recovering the $81,000 to $84,000 zone would suggest the market has absorbed the damage.
Originally published by Crypto Briefing.