Altcoins bore the brunt of market stress over the past 24 hours as a sharp leverage unwind triggered widespread liquidations across major tokens. The liquidations wiped out more than $1.4 billion in positions and exposing heavy long-side positioning among traders.
Data from Coinglass shows that the sell-off accelerated rapidly. Liquidations climbed from $427.8 million in just one hour to $661.6 million over four hours, before reaching $930.2 million within 12 hours.
Over a full 24-hour period, total liquidations stood at approximately $1.44 billion.
Crucially, the bulk of the damage came from long positions. Of the $1.44 billion liquidated, around $1.26 billion were long trades, compared to just $187 million in short liquidations.
The imbalance points to a market that was positioned for a rebound in altcoins, only to be caught offside as prices continued to slide.
Altcoins absorb the bulk of forced selling
While Bitcoin’s decline provided broader market pressure, liquidation data suggests that altcoins absorbed a disproportionate share of the forced unwinding.
Ethereum led losses among major tokens, recording more than $120 million in liquidations within the last hour alone, as leveraged long positions were flushed across multiple exchanges.
Solana followed with roughly $33 million in liquidations, while XRP saw more than $13 million wiped out over the same period.
Dogecoin and Sui also registered elevated liquidation activity, underscoring how widespread the deleveraging event became across large-cap and mid-cap altcoins.
Exchange-level data reinforces the scale of the move. On a 24-hour basis, long liquidations dominated across major trading venues, with platforms such as Binance, Bybit, Hyperliquid, OKX, and Gate all recording significantly higher long-side losses than short-side liquidations.
The pattern points to a coordinated unwind rather than isolated exchange-specific events.
Speed of the move raises volatility risks
Beyond headline figures, the pace of liquidations has become a key concern. In several instances, liquidation spikes occurred within narrow time windows, amplifying downside momentum as forced selling fed into falling prices.
Such rapid cascades often exacerbate volatility, particularly in altcoins where order books tend to be thinner and leverage usage higher than in Bitcoin markets.
Historical liquidation data over the past 90 days shows similar episodes coinciding with abrupt market corrections.
However, the current episode ranks among the more severe in terms of long-side dominance. This type of leverage reset is a short-term stabilizing force, albeit one that often comes at the cost of sharp price drawdowns.
What comes next for altcoins
With a significant portion of leveraged longs already cleared, near-term price action may stabilize if selling pressure eases.
However, continued volatility remains a risk should broader market weakness persist or if traders attempt to re-enter positions too aggressively.
Final Thoughts
- Long liquidations dominated the washout, suggesting altcoins were over-leveraged into the move.
- If volatility cools after this reset, altcoins may stabilise — but another leverage build-up could trigger fresh cascades.
