Crypto traders brace for liquidation wave as leverage stress builds

Crypto derivatives markets are showing rising signs of leverage stress, with liquidation data pointing to growing downside exposure even as spot prices remain range-bound.

Liquidation data indicates that traders have continued to build leveraged positions vulnerable to forced unwinds, particularly on the long side. This has increased the market’s sensitivity to relatively small price moves.

Crypto market liquidations skew heavily toward long positions

According to recent liquidation data, cumulative long liquidations have consistently exceeded short liquidations during several intraday spikes over the past week. 

Source: Coinglass

As of this writing, a single hourly liquidation event cleared more than $230 million in long positions, while short liquidations during the same window remained below $5 million.

This imbalance suggests that bullish leverage remains dominant. This leaves the market exposed to further downside-driven liquidations if prices slip below nearby support levels.

Crypto market exchange data highlights concentrated leverage exposure

A breakdown of liquidation activity by exchange shows that Binance and Hyperliquid accounted for the largest share of forced liquidations during recent spikes.

Binance recorded approximately $36 million in long liquidations, while Hyperliquid saw over $59 million in long positions wiped out. In contrast, short liquidations across all tracked exchanges totaled just $3.5 million during the same period.

The skew highlights a market structure in which downside volatility disproportionately affects long traders.

Market cap heatmap shows broad-based risk-off conditions

The market cap heatmap reinforces the liquidation data, with most large-cap assets trading in negative territory.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization hovered around $1.71 trillion, while Ethereum remained near $344 billion. Both showed sustained selling pressure rather than sharp rebounds.

Source: Coinglass

Mid-cap and sector-specific assets also showed limited upside participation, suggesting capital rotation remains defensive rather than opportunistic.

Price stability masks growing liquidation risk

Despite the elevated liquidation activity, spot prices have avoided a sharp breakdown so far. This suggests that leverage is being reduced in stages rather than through a single capitulation event.

However, liquidation clusters remain active near recent local lows, meaning a decisive move lower could trigger a larger wave of forced selling as remaining leveraged positions are cleared.

What traders are watching next

Traders are closely monitoring whether liquidation volumes continue to rise alongside declining price ranges. 

A sustained increase in long liquidations without meaningful spot recovery would signal that leverage stress is translating into broader market weakness.

Final Thoughts

• Liquidation data suggests the crypto market is carrying more risk than price action alone implies. 
• As long as liquidation pressure remains concentrated and staggered, the market may continue to absorb stress in phases.