Key facts
- Bitcoin and ether prices showed little change over a 24-hour period.
- Nearly $286 million in crypto derivatives positions were liquidated.
- Liquidations occurred across 87,294 traders.
- Price swings of less than 2% were sufficient to trigger liquidations.
- Significant losses were also seen in equity perpetuals tied to AI chip stocks.
Bitcoin and ether prices remained largely stable over the past 24 hours, with bitcoin trading around $63,900 and ether at $1,900. Despite the flat price action, significant volatility within the trading window led to the liquidation of nearly $286 million in crypto derivatives positions across 87,294 traders. Liquidations were split between long and short positions, indicating sharp price swings in both directions that settled back to the starting point. Bitcoin saw approximately $57 million in positions wiped out, with an almost even split between longs and shorts, as prices ranged between $63,247 and $64,660. Ether experienced the largest total liquidations at about $58 million, primarily affecting longs, with prices fluctuating between $1,920 and $1,850. The Federal Reserve's rate decision on Wednesday fell within this period, with the bulk of the liquidations occurring in the 12 hours surrounding the announcement, totaling $188 million, with longs bearing the brunt. Additionally, equity perpetuals on crypto exchanges experienced substantial losses, particularly on the long side, affecting bets on AI chip-related stocks like SanDisk, Micron, SK Hynix, and a semiconductor ETF (SOXL), which saw the year's sharpest selloff.