Crypto Liquidations Surge to $1.7 Billion Amid Heightened Market Volatility

In the past 24 hours, nearly $1.7 billion in liquidations swept through the cryptocurrency market, with the total market capitalization declining by 6%.

Bitcoin (BTC) alone accounted for nearly half of the total liquidations, with traders betting on further upside taking the biggest losses during the latest wipeout.

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Massive Liquidations Impact Leveraged Crypto Traders

Data from CoinGlass shows a sharp wave of liquidations across the cryptocurrency market over the past 24 hours as asset prices declined following escalating US-Iran tensions. In total, 270,438 traders were liquidated during this period.

Long positions accounted for the majority of losses, with liquidations reaching $1.57 billion. Meanwhile, short positions totaled $107.74 million.

Bitcoin liquidations amounted to $768.69 million, with long positions representing $745.3 million of that figure. Ethereum followed a similar pattern.

ETH saw total liquidations of $417.43 million over the same timeframe, with $390.5 million coming from long positions.

Exchange data shows that Hyperliquid recorded the highest liquidation volumes with $567.2 million in long liquidations and $28.1 million in short liquidations. Bybit followed, recording $329 million and $11.9 million, while Binance posted $152.3 million in long and $29.5 million in short liquidations.

These forced closures occur when margin accounts can no longer cover losses, triggering automatic liquidations designed to protect both traders and exchanges from accumulating unsustainable debt.

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Because leveraged positions magnify price movements, sharp declines can quickly push traders using borrowed funds into liquidation. This process often creates a cascading effect, as successive liquidations add selling pressure and accelerate downward momentum.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Drop to 2-Month Lows

BeInCrypto Markets data shows that total crypto market capitalization fell by 6% over the past 24 hours. During early Asian trading hours, Bitcoin and Ethereum slid to two-month lows of $80,815 and $2,687 on Binance, respectively.

By press time, prices had recovered slightly, with Bitcoin trading at $82,023 and Ethereum at $2,737. Among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, Solana posted the largest decline, falling 7.7% over the past 24 hours.

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It is worth noting that the market crash was not confined to the cryptocurrency sector. Precious metals and equities were also affected.

Sentiment Index Signals Extreme Fear in The Crypto Market

Market sentiment deteriorated sharply alongside the sell-off. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index plunged to 16 on January 30, signaling extreme fear among traders. The reading marked the index’s lowest level year-to-date, down from 26 a day earlier.

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Signs of panic were also visible on-chain. On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain tracked a whale sell-off event, signaling capitulation by key market players.

The convergence of heightened geopolitical tensions, aggressive deleveraging, and deteriorating market sentiment has created a challenging environment for crypto markets.

As February approaches, it remains to be seen whether the recent pullback will lead to a rebound or whether continued volatility and risk aversion will keep prices under pressure in the near term.