Leverage Got Checked: $1B in Crypto Bets Liquidated as $BTC, $ETH and $XRP All Slide Together 📉

Nearly $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were forcibly closed over the past 24 hours as uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's next interest-rate decision dragged bitcoin, ether and XRP lower on Thursday. Ether traders absorbed the largest share of the damage. Roughly $286 million in ether futures were liquidated, compared with $197 million in bitcoin futures, according to CoinGlass data reviewed during Asian morning hours. Bitcoin traded around $81,000, down about 3.2% over 24 hours, while ether fell roughly 6.4% to about $2,356. XRP declined approximately 5% alongside the move, leaving traders betting on direction across all three major tickers underwater at the same time.

The ether sell-off was disproportionate to the size of its market. Outstanding ether futures totaled about $30 billion, less than bitcoin's $52 billion, yet ether liquidations ran nearly 60% of the combined $483 million bitcoin-and-ether closures through the same window. Liquidations occur when traders use borrowed funds to open positions and a price move leaves them without enough collateral to keep the bet open, prompting the exchange to close the trade automatically. A trader deploying $1,000 in margin on a $10,000 long, for example, can be wiped out on a move of less than 10% against them.

Losses extended beyond the two largest cryptocurrencies. XRP and Solana's SOL each slipped around 5%, while dogecoin fell roughly 6%. Solana futures recorded about $31 million in liquidations as SOL dropped approximately 5.5%, and Zcash contracts added nearly $19 million as ZEC fell about 13%.

Smaller-cap futures markets also saw forced closures as the broader move pulled altcoins lower alongside the major tokens. The liquidation figures cited throughout measure the value of positions closed by exchanges rather than the cash traders personally lost. The reporting was published on Oct. 15, 2026.