Crypto market plunges $100 billion in 24 hours

Key Takeaways

What caused the crypto market to drop $100 billion in 24 hours?

A $128 million Balancer hack across six blockchains, cautious Federal Reserve signals about December rate cuts, and massive whale selling.

How severe were the liquidations?

Liquidations wiped out over $1.2 billion in leveraged positions.

The global crypto market shed approximately $100 billion in 24 hours on Monday. Total market capitalization plummeted to $3.5 trillion, representing a 4% decline, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin dropped below $108,000 to trade at $106,500 [3%]. Ethereum fell harder, declining 8% to $3,600. 

Three forces triggered the rout: a $128 million Balancer exploit, cautious signals from the Federal Reserve, and aggressive profit-taking by whales.

Balancer exploit shakes DeFi confidence

Hackers struck Balancer’s V2 vaults at 09:00 GMT on 3 November. 

A faulty access control vulnerability allowed unauthorized withdrawals across six blockchains: Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, and Sonic.

PeckShield confirmed the damage. Attackers drained $128 million in assets, primarily WETH, osETH, and wstETH.

Berachain responded with the most drastic action: halting its entire network for an emergency hard fork.

The exploit ranks as the third-largest DeFi hack of 2025. Only Bybit’s $1.5 billion breach in February and Cetus Protocol’s $223 million loss in May caused more damage.

Fed officials keep crypto market guessing

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly spoke Monday about the December rate decision. She said the central bank should “keep an open mind” about another cut.

Daly supported last week’s 25-basis-point reduction but stressed the balancing act ahead.

Inflation still runs around 3%, above the Fed’s 2% target. The labor market continues softening. The Fed must manage both risks.

Fed caution boosted the U.S. dollar, and risk assets felt the pressure. 

Markets are now closely watching key data releases this week, including JOLTS job openings, ADP payrolls, and inflation reports. These numbers will determine the December rate cut odds.

Whales dump, liquidations mount

Liquidations wiped out over $1.2 billion in leveraged positions within 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass. Long positions accounted for $1.1 billion of the total. 

Additionally, CryptoQuant data reveals major whale activity. One Bitcoin OG offloaded 13,004 BTC throughout October.

Last weekend alone, this whale transferred approximately 1,200 BTC to Kraken. Early Bitcoin holders continue applying sustained selling pressure.

Not all doom for the crypto market

Strategy bought the dip. The company added 397 BTC for $45.6 million, at $114,771 per bitcoin. Total holdings now stand at 641,205 BTC. MicroStrategy achieved a 26.1% Bitcoin yield year-to-date in 2025.

Also, Ripple launched major initiatives. The company closed its acquisition on Hidden Road in October. On 3 November, Ripple Prime went live for U.S. institutional spot trading. RLUSD stablecoin crossed $1 billion market cap.

Binance data shows $7.3 billion in stablecoin inflows, signaling that capital is waiting on the sidelines for re-entry opportunities into the crypto market.