Ether Liquidations Outpace Bitcoin During a Sharp Crypto Derivatives Flush
October 9 derivatives data pointed to larger forced closures in Ether positions than in Bitcoin despite Ether's smaller market size.
CoinDesk reported on October 9 that roughly $356 million in Ether positions and $298 million in Bitcoin positions were liquidated across a reported 24-hour period. Across cryptocurrencies, the article cited approximately $1.19 billion in liquidations, with long positions accounting for the majority. These are time-specific estimates from trading venues and aggregators, not immutable settlement totals.
Liquidation volume reflects margin positions forcibly closed when collateral is no longer sufficient. It does not measure the same thing as the amount of Ether or Bitcoin sold by unleveraged holders, and it cannot on its own establish whether all affected traders were using the same strategy.
Relative to the size of the respective markets, CoinDesk found Ether's forced closures especially pronounced. That can reveal crowded derivatives positioning or liquidity stress even if the spot market subsequently stabilizes. Readers should compare data-provider methodologies before treating a single 24-hour snapshot as a comprehensive market audit.
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