Crypto Liquidations Top $1.4B in 24 Hours as BTC, ETH, SOL Enter Bear Territory
Over the past 24 hours more than $1.45 billion of crypto positions were liquidated, making it the fourth-largest single-day liquidation event in the last 90 days. CoinGlass data (collected Feb 5, 2026) shows 311,000+ traders were wiped out, with long positions accounting for roughly $1.24 billion of the total. Bitcoin (BTC) led losses with about $738.8 million liquidated — roughly twice Ethereum’s (ETH) $337.5 million — while Solana (SOL) saw roughly $77.3 million in liquidations. The biggest single trade liquidation reported was a $11.36 million BTC/USDT position on Aster. Most liquidations occurred in the prior 12 hours, including $646 million in the last four hours and $85 million in the last hour at time of reporting. Prices dropped below key supports, pushing BTC, ETH and SOL into bear-market territory; BTC traded around $66.6k, ETH near $1.96k and SOL near $83 at the time. Analysts cited include Michael Burry, who warned BTC could revisit lows near $50k, and PlanB, who outlined multiple bear scenarios. For traders: the event was driven by a long squeeze, concentrated BTC liquidation exposure, and rapid intraday volatility — factors that increase funding-rate swings, margin calls and potential short-term overshoot before any recovery.
Bearish
The liquidation event signals elevated short-term downside risk. Key reasons: 1) Scale and concentration — $1.45B wiped out with BTC responsible for roughly half indicates heavy leverage concentrated in BTC derivatives; 2) Long squeeze dynamics — $1.24B of liquidations were longs, meaning forced selling amplified downward price moves and can trigger cascading margin calls; 3) Rapid intraday volatility — large intra-period flows ($646M in four hours) reduce liquidity and increase bid-ask spreads, making recovery harder in the immediate term; 4) Loss of support levels — BTC, ETH and SOL breached important technical supports and are described as entering bear territory; 5) Analyst warnings — high-profile caution (e.g., Michael Burry) can dampen institutional and retail appetite. Short-term implications for traders: increased funding-rate costs, higher chance of continued cascading liquidations, and preferred strategies are risk reduction: reduce leverage, widen stop-losses, or hedge with inverse products. Market-makers may widen spreads and reduce offered size, increasing slippage on large orders. Medium-to-long-term implications are mixed: forced selling can create oversold conditions and a capitulation bottom, presenting buying opportunities if macro and on-chain fundamentals hold. However, if macro liquidity tightens or institutional selling continues, price discovery could move lower, extending a protracted bear phase similar to past mass liquidations (e.g., 2022 deleveraging episodes). Overall, expect near-term downside bias with potential for volatile rebounds if buyers step in.