A sharp decline across bitcoin, ether and XRP forced the closure of roughly $1.5 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency positions, according to CoinDesk. Traders betting on higher prices accounted for nearly 84% of those liquidations, while Binance processed close to half of the total.
Long Positions Bear the Brunt
Leveraged trading allows market participants to control positions larger than the capital they put up. When prices move against them far enough, exchanges can automatically close those positions, or liquidate them, to limit further losses.
In this episode, the overwhelming majority of forced closures involved long positions—trades positioned for cryptocurrency prices to rise. The selloff in bitcoin, ether and XRP therefore hit bullish leveraged traders particularly hard. The $1.5 billion figure measures the value of the bets that were forcibly closed, rather than necessarily representing the amount of traders’ original capital.
Binance Handled Almost Half
Binance accounted for almost half of the liquidation activity, according to the report. The exchange’s role highlights how concentrated the forced closures were among major crypto-trading venues, although the source material does not provide a breakdown for other platforms.
The liquidation wave also illustrates how leverage can intensify a market move. As prices fall, automated closures of bullish positions can add selling pressure, potentially accelerating declines across widely traded tokens. The available reporting does not specify the individual liquidation totals for bitcoin, ether or XRP.
Rebound Changes the Pressure
A recovery began after the initial selloff, and short sellers—traders positioned for further declines—started to face forced closures. This shift means the same liquidation mechanism that initially affected bullish positions began working against bearish bets as prices rebounded.
Moneyiar market data, recorded on October 25, 2026, showed bitcoin at $80,430.51, down 0.08% over 24 hours and 1.32% over seven days. Ether was $2,342.06, up 0.02% daily but down 1.77% weekly. XRP stood at $1.2991, up 0.56% in 24 hours and 0.09% over seven days. BNB was $740.86, up 0.81% daily and 3.32% weekly.
