Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP crash as $1.7B liquidated in 24 hours

The crypto market lost $108 billion in six minutes as $1.71 billion in positions were liquidated, hitting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP hardest.

According to CoinGlass, 281,846 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $574 million in long positions wiped out in just four hours as prices dropped sharply. Open interest across cryptocurrencies fell $3.34 billion, or 5.18 percent, to about $55.60 billion, showing how quickly leverage was removed from the market.

Over the past four days, more than $4.5 billion in long positions have been liquidated across crypto, making it the seventh largest liquidation event in the asset class's history. The total market value fell from $2.68 trillion to $2.55 trillion as selling pressure intensified.

Bitcoin's recent high near $78,800 now serves as the main resistance level, while analyst The Martini Guy points to $70,500 as key support. If BTC holds above that level, the broader recovery could continue; losing it would weaken the current bullish setup.

Bitcoin's rally from $63,600 to $79,500 initially triggered around $2.7 billion in short liquidations. However, the trend reversed on August 22, putting heavily leveraged long positions under pressure. Bitcoin fell to around $76,500 within six minutes, while long positions worth about $257.77 million were liquidated.

Ethereum also faced heavy selling, recording around $293.34 million in liquidations as its price dropped to about $2,426. XRP saw the sharpest decline among the three, falling about 12 percent from $1.70 to $1.51, leading to around $121.71 million in XRP liquidations.

Altcoins were hit hardest in percentage terms. The TOTAL3 market cap, which tracks crypto excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, fell from $784 billion to $731 billion in a single candle — roughly $53 billion wiped out in minutes, a decline of about 6.7 percent. Bitcoin fell roughly 2.5 percent during the same move.

$70,500 Becomes Bitcoin's Key Support

Despite the recent drop, crypto analyst The Martini Guy believes Bitcoin's overall uptrend remains intact. He pointed to $70,500 as the key support level after BTC moved from weeks of trading near $65,000 to breaking above $67,200 and then $70,500.

"Bitcoin has pulled back slightly after breaking through $78K, but the bigger picture remains very strong," The Martini Guy said on X. "We spent weeks trading between $63K and $65K. Then $67.2K broke. Then $70.5K broke. Now we're sitting around $77.5K. The level I'm watching most closely now is $70,500."

Bitcoin's recent high near $78,800 is now the main resistance level. If BTC stays above $70,500, the analyst believes the broader recovery could continue despite the recent market liquidations. However, losing this support could weaken the current bullish setup and increase the risk of another decline.

The flash crash follows a period of extreme leverage buildup. The rapid unwind across BTC, ETH, and XRP derivatives suggests the market may face elevated volatility in the coming days as traders reassess positions and open interest rebuilds.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.