BTC USD Survives an $820M Liquidation Bloodbath: Can Bulls Handle CPI Next?

BTC USD dropped to around $81,000 on Monday, October 12, as a wave of forced selling hit leveraged traders, before recovering to $83,635. CoinGlass data shows $820.84 million in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours, affecting 170,649 traders. Longs accounted for $689.11 million, or 84% of the total, a clear sign of how quickly crowded bullish bets can unravel when prices turn.

Liquidations happen when a leveraged trader's collateral can no longer cover their losses and the exchange closes the position automatically. Each forced sale pushes the price lower, which can trigger the next one, turning an ordinary dip into a much sharper drop.

The mechanics behind futures leverage and margin exposure help explain why the liquidation total matters beyond the headline dollar figure.

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Bitcoin led the liquidations with $194.28 million, 73.8% of it from longs, followed by Ethereum at $183.55 million. The largest single liquidation was a $9.65 million BTCUSDT long on Binance, closed out at $81,772.75, and Binance alone handled 50.6% of all liquidations. Altcoins took heavier damage: Ethereum trades at $2,528, down 6.3% over the past week, while XRP sits at $1.37, down 2.25% in 24 hours.