Overview
A large-scale liquidation wave focused on leveraged long orders swept across cryptocurrency markets overnight, dragging Bitcoin down to roughly $78,000. The world’s largest digital asset was trading at $78,030.1 as of 05:51 ET (09:51 GMT), after a sharp move lower that tracked wider macro stresses in bond and equity markets.
Market moves and liquidations
Bitcoin fell about 3.2% over a 24-hour period according to Investing.com data, settling near $78,000 during Asian morning hours on Saturday. The decline erased all gains accumulated over the prior seven days, a period in which BTC briefly traded above $82,000.
Blockchain and derivatives monitoring firm CoinGlass compiled data showing $581 million in digital asset positions were liquidated within 24 hours. Of that total, approximately 95% - about $552 million - were leveraged long positions that were forcibly closed.
Bitcoin accounted for the largest share of individual liquidations at $189 million, while Ether registered $151 million in liquidations. The single biggest automated liquidation order occurred on the Bitget exchange, where a BTCUSDT position worth $21.59 million was removed.
Macro drivers
The synchronized selloff developed as traditional global macro markets digested higher-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) prints earlier in the week. Those inflation datapoints, combined with another set of market pressures, altered traders’ expectations around U.S. monetary policy.
Crude oil prices climbed above $105 per barrel amid ongoing conflict involving Iran and shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, contributing to stickier inflation readings. As a result, traders shifted away from anticipating Federal Reserve rate cuts and began pricing in the potential for higher rates, a dynamic that pushed U.S. 10-year Treasury yields past 4.5%.
The rapid change in macro pricing - effectively moving liquidity easing out of the 2026 horizon - coincided with a forceful repricing in the highly leveraged crypto market.
On-chain controversy
At the same time, on-chain tracking from Arkham Intelligence triggered an institutional debate over sovereign crypto reserves. The analytics indicated that Druk Holding and Investments, the royal government of Bhutan’s sovereign wealth fund, had systematically moved and likely liquidated roughly $1 billion in Bitcoin since mid-2025.
According to the recorded movements, the nation’s verified on-chain holdings fell from about 13,000 BTC to 3,220 BTC, a balance valued at nearly $261 million. Officials at Druk Holding and Investments issued an explicit denial that any portion of the state’s holdings had been sold.
Altcoins and memecoins
The crypto-wide long flush translated into broad altcoin losses. Key moves included:
- Ether - down 3.57% to $2,173.76
- XRP - down 4.13% to $1.4041
- Solana - down 5.46%
- BNB - down 4.51%
- Cardano - down 4.81%
- Dogecoin - down 4.31%
- $TRUMP - down 8.02%
Context and implications
The episode underscores how highly leveraged positions in crypto can amplify moves when traditional markets reprice macro risks. The combination of inflation prints, rising energy costs tied to geopolitical friction, and a step-up in Treasury yields created an environment in which bullish, leveraged traders were vulnerable to rapid deleveraging.
Reporting by Ajmal Hussain.