CoinDesk
Bitcoin plunged to $61,300 on heavy selling before recovering to roughly $62,500, a move that triggered an estimated $3 billion in liquidations over two days and pulled total futures open interest down 8.5% to $111.4 billion. The 24-hour liquidation tally alone reached $1.7 billion, of which $750 million was attributable to bitcoin and $390 million to ether, with the rest spread across altcoin perps. Ether slipped 3% since midnight UTC to around $1,750, while NEAR, ZEC and JUP all shed more than 13% as the altcoin tape absorbed the brunt of the unwind.
Why it matters
The price action is sharp but the derivatives footprint is the more telling signal. Open interest in BTC has pulled back to 766,000 BTC from record highs above 800,000 the prior day — the decline suggests leveraged longs have been flushed out rather than bears aggressively building fresh directional exposure, at least in BTC. Implied volatility has climbed in parallel, with Volmex's 30-day BVIV and EVIV indexes surging over the past three sessions as traders pay up for downside protection. Put skews have strengthened on both bitcoin and ether, and the $60,000 strike put on Deribit now carries over $1 billion in notional open interest — as spot drifts toward that strike, large dealer hedging flows become increasingly likely.
The macro backdrop is also weighing on risk appetite. Capital is rotating from crypto into the AI trade in traditional markets, a flow shift that has layered on top of the lingering damage from October's leverage wipeout and left the market structure thin. With more than half of all bitcoin in circulation sitting on unrealized losses — 10.5 million BTC underwater versus 9.8 million in profit — the supply-in-profit / supply-at-a-loss crossover is now decisively in the loss column, a configuration that has historically coincided with major bear-market bottoms but in the near term is a measure of how stretched positioning had become.
Market impact
Solana stands out as the clearest short-side accumulation: SOL open interest surged to a record 72.16 million tokens even as price fell through its February low, a combination that typically signals aggressive short building.
Frequently asked questions
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How much was liquidated in the latest bitcoin selloff?
Roughly $3 billion in leveraged positions were forcibly closed over two days, with the 24-hour tally alone reaching $1.7 billion — $750M from BTC, $390M from ETH, and the rest spread across altcoin perps.
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Why is the $60,000 put strike on Deribit significant?
The $60,000 strike put on Deribit now carries over $1 billion in notional open interest. As spot price drifts toward that level, large dealer hedging and position adjustments become more likely, which can amplify volatility on both sides.
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What does the record Solana open interest signal?
SOL open interest surged to a record 72.16 million tokens even as price fell through its February low. That combination — rising leverage on declining price — typically reflects aggressive short accumulation rather than fresh long demand.
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How many bitcoins are currently sitting at a loss?
Per the source, 10.5 million BTC are now underwater versus 9.8 million in profit, meaning more than half of all bitcoin in circulation is sitting on unrealized losses — a supply-in-profit / supply-at-a-loss crossover historically associated with major bear-market bottoms.
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Which altcoins underperformed the most during the move?
NEAR, ZEC and JUP each lost more than 13% since midnight UTC, with DASH, ENA, FET and HYPE all down double digits. Thin liquidity on altcoin pairs magnified the downside once the liquidation cascade hit.
Benjamin Cowen
CoinTelegraph
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