Fed rate decision triggered $286M in BTC/ETH liquidations across 90,000 positions despite flat 24-hour price action.
Macro & Markets ·
Federal Reserve rate decision volatility triggered roughly $286 million in liquidations across 90,000 leveraged positions over 24 hours, even as Bitcoin and Ether prices remained nearly flat. Long and short positions suffered nearly equal losses—approximately $186 million in longs versus $100 million in shorts—as price swings of less than 2% flushed out traders positioned in both directions. Bitcoin oscillated between $63,247 and $64,660 while Ether ranged between $1,850 and $1,920, with roughly $57 million in Bitcoin positions and $58 million in Ether positions cleared, according to CoinGlass data cited by CoinDesk.
The concentrated damage occurred around the Fed announcement, which alone triggered $188 million in liquidations with longs accounting for $130 million of that tally. Beyond spot crypto, equity perpetuals on crypto exchanges—including positions in SanDisk, Micron, SK Hynix, and a semiconductor ETF—sustained heavy long-side losses during what became the sharpest chip sector selloff of the year. SK Hynix fell 17% following earnings that fell short of expectations.
Current market structure shows dense two-sided liquidity clustering at key levels: a break below approximately $61,500 could cascade into roughly $1.3 billion in additional long liquidations, while a move above approximately $67,700 could trigger approximately $1.07 billion in short liquidations. The Fear & Greed Index stands at 38, indicating fear sentiment.