Crypto Bulls and Bears Lose $300M Each as Bitcoin Climbs to $113K, Then Dumps

Bitcoin's BTC$89,615.20 two-way price action is squeezing both leveraged bullish and bearish plays, underscoring challenging market conditions for traders.

In the past 24 hours, BTC's price has traded back and forth between $107,000 and $113,000, wiping out roughly $600 million in market-wide bullish and bearish futures bets. The liquidation wave hit as traders cut leverage across major exchanges, with data from CoinGlass showing roughly $355 million in long positions and $301 million in shorts closed out over 24 hours.

Bitcoin accounted for the bulk of the damage at more than $340 million, followed by ether ETH$3,041.84 at $200 million. Solana SOL$132.74, XRP$2.0330, and DOGE$0.1399 rounded out the top losers, each seeing tens of millions in forced liquidations.

Such flushes are common after large price swings. Leveraged positions on perpetual futures exchanges are automatically closed when traders’ margin levels fall below maintenance thresholds, often causing cascading price moves as positions are sold into thin liquidity.

Large liquidations serve as critical indicators of short-term turning points in market sentiment.

“Despite Bitcoin’s sharp pullback over the past 24 hours, positioning on our futures platform has actually continued to stabilize,” said Alexia Theodorou, head of derivatives at Kraken. “After hitting a local low on Oct. 6, the long/short ratio on Bitcoin perpetuals has shifted back toward neutral territory."

"The recent volatility pushed derivatives activity on Kraken to record levels, but despite the prevailing bearish sentiment, our data suggests many traders view the sell-off as overdone and are cautiously positioning for potential upside. While sentiment remains fragile, we’re seeing a more balanced market emerge following an initial wave of capitulation," Theodorou added.

Sentiment remains fragile

BTC's sharp pullback from overnight highs above $113,000 marked an abrupt end to the recovery from the Oct. 10 low and is indicative of how fragile sentiment remains heading into the final stretch of October.

Perhaps, the market is still digesting the fallout from the month’s earlier deleveraging shock.

“The bulls failed to push the market above recent highs, and we’re seeing the formation of an active short-term downtrend,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro.

“Bitcoin at $108K has again fallen to its 200-day moving average. The spring scenario of prolonged consolidation around this line and a further breakout now looks like the hopeful case for bulls," he added.

Major altcoins have tracked BTC lower, with ETH holding near $3,870 and SOL down 9% over the week. BNB and XRP posted minor gains after outperforming in earlier sessions, while memecoins such as DOGE saw sharper drawdowns amid thinning speculative flows.

“The sharp intraday swings across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major altcoins reflect a cautious market sentiment,” said Wenny Cai, co-founder and COO at SynFutures. “After yesterday’s brief recovery, traders are back to reacting to macro cues like rising bond yields, geopolitical uncertainty, and thin liquidity. In this kind of environment, even small changes in risk appetite trigger outsized moves.”

Despite the red screens, data from Glassnode and ETF flow trackers suggest structural demand hasn’t collapsed. Spot ETF inflows remain steady, exchange balances sit near cycle lows, and long-term holders continue accumulating.

Traders are now eyeing the Oct. 29 Fed meeting, with most anticipating a 25 basis point cut in borrowing costs. The central bank reduced rates by 25 bps in September.