Crypto Liquidations Top $2 Billion as Bitcoin Continues Slide, Ethereum Hits 4-Month Low

On Tuesday crypto market bloodbath only worse as the afternoon dragged on, with Bitcoin nearly hit the $99,000 mark, ethereum falling to a four-month low, and total daily liquidations topping $2 billion.

Bitcoin fell below the $100,000 mark on Tuesday for the first time in six months, then continued to dip lower after a brief rebound. According to CoinGecko, BTC fell as low as $99,075 on Tuesday, with CoinMarketCap recording a bottom just below the $99,000 mark.

It recently traded hands for $101,167, marking a daily dive of about 5%. This pushed Bitcoin’s recent decline to more than 10% in the past week, with the asset nearly 20% from an all-time high above $126,000 set in early October.

Ethereum, meanwhile, fell from a 24-hour high of $3,649 to a low of $3,097 – the lowest mark recorded since July. At a recent price of $3,260, ETH is down more than 9% on the day, surpassing all other cryptocurrencies in the top 10 coins by market capitalization.

Other altcoins such as XRP, Solana and BNB show daily losses worse than Bitcoin, although not as bad as Ethereum.

In all, about $2.02 billion of crypto positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinGlasswith $1.63 billion worth tied to long positions, or bets that the price of an asset will rise.

“Too many traders used borrowed money to bet on prices going up,” Maja Vujinovic, co-founder and CEO of digital assets at Ethereum treasury company FG Nexus. “The next few days matter: If Bitcoin can stay above $100k-$105K, it could just be a healthy reset. If not, we could see a deeper drop. Big investors and companies should be cautious, but also watch out for smart buying opportunities, since the broader economy and market mood are still shaky.”

The massive fall in the price of Ethereum pushed it to the top of the liquidation pack, accounting for $655 million compared to $614 million for Bitcoin positions. Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, Bitcoin had led daily liquidations after its initial dive below $100,000.

While $2 billion is a substantial amount of liquidations, it still pales in comparison to the record $19 billion in settlements set in October, at least for now. But some traders undoubtedly became more conservative after that massacre.

“This is an echo of Black Friday (October 10),” said Mike Maloney, CEO of technology provider Incyt. “The sharp drop was quickly reversed, but anxiety remains among major investors.”

Tuesday’s correction came alongside a dive in stock indexes, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending the day technology stocks took a hit amid wider macroeconomic uncertainty.

Other driving factors recent crypto leaks they include Trump’s ongoing trade conflicts – with a threat against China preceding last month’s record liquidations – along with liquidity concerns and growing pessimism about a possible third US interest rate cut in 2025.

Additional report from James Rubin