Crypto Market Liquidations Surpass $10 Billion, Says Bybit CEO

By Tatevik Avetisyan 3 Min Read

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) —  The crypto market liquidations may have reached $10 billion, according to Bybit CEO Ben Zhou. While CoinGlass data initially reported $2.24 billion in liquidations on Feb. 3, Zhou suggested the actual figure is much higher.

Crypto Liquidation Heatmap. Source: CoinGlass
Crypto Liquidation Heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

Bybit alone recorded $2.1 billion in crypto liquidations within 24 hours, Zhou stated in an X post. However, CoinGlass listed Bybit’s liquidations at $333 million due to API limitations restricting the number of updates per second.

Ben Zhou on Crypto Liquidations Transparency. Source: Ben Zhou on X
Ben Zhou on Crypto Liquidations Transparency. Source: Ben Zhou on X

Market Reacts to Global Trade War Fears

The crypto market correction followed concerns over a potential global trade war. Days earlier, Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing import tariffs on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico.

The announcement increased economic uncertainty, triggering significant sell-offs in the crypto market.

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Bitcoin’s price dropped to $91,500, contributing to the liquidation wave.

Bitcoin Price Decline Chart. Source: TradingView

Bitcoin Price Decline Chart. Source: TradingView

More than 730,000 traders faced losses as leveraged positions were wiped out.

Data Discrepancies in Crypto Liquidations

The reported crypto liquidations varied across platforms due to API limitations. Zhou explained that exchanges limit the number of data updates per second, leading to lower reported figures.

“We have API limitation on how many feeds are pushed out per second. From my observation, other exchanges also practice the same to limit liquidation data,”

Zhou stated.

Bybit Liquidation Stream Limitations. Source: Bybit

Bybit Liquidation Stream Limitations. Source: X

Bybit announced plans to push all liquidation data moving forward to provide more transparency.

Binance Registers Largest Liquidation Order

The crypto market liquidations included the biggest single order on Binance, where an ETH/BTC position worth $25.6 million was closed. The sell-off impacted major trading pairs, forcing traders to exit positions.

A savvy cryptocurrency trader recently made nearly $16 million by leveraging Ethereum’s six-week price decline. Using a 50x leveraged short position, the trader opened the trade when ETH was priced at $3,388, with a liquidation threshold of $4,645, as per Hypurrscan data.

Ethereum Short Position Overview. Source: Hypurrscan

Ethereum Short Position Overview. Source: Hypurrscan

The strategy, which involves borrowing Ether, selling it at a high price, and repurchasing it at a lower price, generated $15.7 million in unrealized profit. Additionally, the trader earned $2.3 million in funding fees, further boosting total gains. While leveraged trading offers substantial profit potential, it carries significant risks, as demonstrated by a January 2024 case where a trader lost $161,000 in a single liquidation.

Crypto Market Faces Heavy Liquidations

Above all, with crypto market liquidations surpassing $10 billion, volatility remains high. The impact of global economic shifts continues to influence crypto trading, with uncertainty driving market movements.