Crypto markets recorded USD 1.53 billion in liquidations over 24 hours on Friday as a selloff following Binance's security breach hit Bitcoin, Ether and smaller tokens. Exchanges forcibly closed traders' positions betting on rising prices worth about USD 1.29 billion, according to CoinGlass.
Those long positions made up 83.8% of all forced closures. The sharpest wave came during the final 12 hours, when liquidations totaled roughly USD 1.37 billion. The latest 12 hours alone accounted for almost 90% of the full day's liquidations.
Binance reported that Thursday's security incident affected an estimated USD 6.3 billion in assets. The exchange pledged to cover customer losses and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while it carried out security checks.
The incident came as cryptocurrency prices fell across major markets. Bitcoin touched approximately USD 76,460 before recovering toward USD 78,500. Ether dropped below USD 2,200, then traded near USD 2,240. Solana, XRP and Dogecoin also declined.
As prices dropped, exchanges automatically closed leveraged positions that lacked enough collateral. These positions allow traders to control larger amounts using only part of the required value. When a market moves against them, forced closures limit further exposure.
Selling tied to closed long positions can deepen a decline because exchanges must exit those bets as prices fall. Over the latest 12-hour period, longs accounted for around USD 1.23 billion in liquidations.
Bitcoin recorded about USD 499 million in liquidations, while Ether accounted for another USD 358 million. Together, the two cryptocurrencies represented more than half of the total. Solana followed with USD 82.6 million, ahead of XRP at USD 38.1 million and Dogecoin at USD 18.6 million.
Among exchanges, Binance handled USD 754.6 million in forced closures, representing 49.2% of market-wide liquidations. Long positions made up approximately USD 670.6 million of Binance's total. Hyperliquid recorded USD 251.4 million, followed by Bybit with USD 186.5 million.
CoinGlass identified a USD 11 million Bitcoin long on Binance as the largest individual liquidation. The order showed how a single leveraged position could face a substantial forced closure during the market decline.
Why were traders betting on further losses also facing liquidations? Bitcoin's rebound began pressuring short positions, which depend on prices falling. Closing those positions requires purchases that can support an upward price move.
Short positions accounted for USD 57.3 million of the approximately USD 85 million in liquidations over a four-hour period. In the final hour of that period, short positions contributed USD 20.6 million of the USD 21.6 million in liquidations, accounting for approximately 95% of the total.
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The broader selloff followed Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% to 4.00%. Officials reached that decision after their two-day October meeting, although the vote was not unanimous.
Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack opposed holding rates steady. Both preferred an increase of 25 basis points. The dissenting votes showed that some policymakers preferred an immediate response to inflation pressures. Their dissent came as inflation concerns remained central to the Federal Reserve's discussion.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said policymakers were ready to respond as conditions required. He also said bringing inflation down remained the central bank's responsibility. The committee focused mainly on price stability during its meeting, according to his remarks.
Markets had largely expected unchanged rates, but expectations for the December meeting shifted toward further tightening. The CME FedWatch Tool placed the probability of a December 9 rate increase at 79.6% on Thursday, compared with 78.33% on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield remained near 5%, while the US Dollar Index stood above 102. Bitcoin, Ether and XRP had fallen toward USD 80,000, USD 2,300 and USD 1.30 respectively on Thursday, before the latest liquidation figures emerged.
The Binance breach coincided with USD 1.53 billion in forced crypto liquidations, with long positions accounting for most closures. Bitcoin and Ether led the losses, while a later rebound put pressure on shorts. Federal Reserve inflation concerns and December rate expectations remained part of the broader market backdrop.