A fresh drop in the Asian morning compounded losses for hopeful traders as bitcoin lost the $98,000 level for the first time since May, extending a week-long bleeding that has dragged the majors down sharply.
Ether fell more than 8% to around $3,500, while XRP, Solana’s SOL and Cardano’s ADA had similar declines. The tone remained decidedly risk-off, with weakness in crypto tracking stocks in Asia as traders exited leveraged bets and rotated into cash.
Liquidation data shows the size of the flush. More than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out in 24 hours, with about $887 million from longs.
It marks one of the heaviest liquidations in a month. About 235,000 traders were forced out of positions, and the largest single wipeout was a $44 million BTC long on HTX.
Across major venues, Bybit, Hyperliquid and Binance each saw more than $180 million in long liquidations, representing over 85% of all bets, reflecting how aggressively traders had leaned into last week’s bounce.
The setup heading into the decline was fragile as funding rates had turned positive across majors, open interest was rising and spot volume was thinning — making for conditions that often amplify the downside when momentum reverses.
As BTC cut through $100,000, pockets of liquidity on the way down evaporated, creating a vacuum that accelerated the move towards $97,000.
Macro headwinds added fuel. China’s latest data set showed that economic activity cooled far more than expected. Industrial production fell to 4.9% year-on-year from 6.5% in September, while investment in fixed assets fell 1.7% over the first 10 months in a historic slump.
The figures hit Asian shares immediately, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index falling 1.3% and chipmakers leading losses. The weakness spilled into crypto within minutes, mirroring patterns seen throughout Q4 where digital assets have behaved as high-beta macro risk.
At the same time, hopes for an interest rate cut in December disappeared after a series of cautious remarks from officials. Money markets are now pricing the odds of a decline in December below 50%, down significantly from earlier this week. This shift, coupled with the global equity swing, created the latest leg lower in crypto as traders reassessed year-end positioning.
For crypto, the immediate question is whether the forced liquidations have run their course.
BTC’s break below $98,000 focuses on support near $94,000, while altcoins remain vulnerable if stocks extend their retreat.
But structurally, liquidation-driven resets have often marked exhaustion zones. Whether that dynamic repeats itself depends largely on whether macro volatility stabilizes over the next 48 hours.
