Crypto Market Cap Drops 2.6% as $164M in Longs Are Liquidated

The global crypto market pulled back as traders cut leveraged positions, sending the total market capitalization down 2.6% to $2.88 trillion.

More than $164 million in crypto positions were liquidated, with long positions accounting for most of the forced closures.

The move shows that traders who were positioned for further gains were caught on the wrong side of the latest decline.

Long Traders Take Most of the Damage

Liquidations happen when exchanges automatically close leveraged positions after traders no longer have enough collateral to support them.

In this selloff, long positions made up most of the liquidations.

That matters because it points to a reduction in bullish leverage rather than a broad wave of short sellers being forced out.

When prices fall quickly, highly leveraged long positions can be closed automatically. Those forced sales can add more selling pressure to an already weak market.

The result can be a short-term feedback loop where falling prices trigger liquidations, which create additional selling, leading to more liquidations.

CoinGlass tracks long and short liquidations across major crypto derivatives markets, while market data providers continue to show elevated derivatives activity.

Bitcoin Pullback Adds Pressure

Bitcoin was trading around $83,500 on September 30 after giving back an earlier move higher.

The decline came after Bitcoin had gained roughly 44% during the third quarter, its strongest quarterly performance since early 2024. Ether gained about 70.9% during the same period.

That strong quarterly rally left the market with substantial gains to protect.

As prices pulled back, leveraged traders faced a different environment.

Bitcoin also struggled to hold gains even after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data briefly pushed it above $85,500. The move later reversed as Treasury yields climbed again.

Rising Treasury Yields Remain a Headwind

The latest crypto weakness comes as U.S. Treasury yields remain elevated.

The 10-year Treasury yield reached about 5.30% on September 30, its highest level since 2002, while the 30-year yield reached 5.65%.

Higher yields can make non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin less attractive relative to bonds.

September also produced the biggest monthly increase in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield since 2022, according to Reuters. Rising oil prices and inflation concerns have pushed investors to prepare for interest rates remaining higher for longer.

That backdrop has added pressure to risk assets even as crypto enters the fourth quarter after a strong three-month rally.

ETF Demand Has Not Disappeared

The pullback is also happening while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to record net inflows.

Bitcoin ETFs extended their inflow streak to nine consecutive trading sessions, bringing total inflows during the run to about $3.1 billion, according to Farside data reported by Altcoin Buzz.

Related: Bitcoin ETF Streak Hits $3.1B as Ether Funds Reverse

However, daily ETF inflows have recently become smaller.

U.S. spot crypto ETFs attracted about $64.8 million on September 28, down roughly 80% from the previous Friday, although Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP funds all remained in positive territory that day.

This creates a mixed market picture.

Institutional spot demand has remained positive, but derivatives traders have been reducing risk as prices struggle to extend the recent rally.

Crypto Market Enters October After a Leverage Reset

The latest liquidation wave is relatively small compared with the much larger deleveraging events seen during previous crypto crashes.

Still, the direction of the liquidations matters.

With longs accounting for most of the $164 million in forced closures, the move suggests that some traders had positioned for the September rally to continue.

The market is now entering October with Bitcoin below its recent highs, elevated Treasury yields and less aggressive derivatives positioning.

At the same time, Bitcoin ETF inflows and the strong third-quarter performance show that the pullback is taking place within a market that had attracted significant capital during the previous months.

For now, the key issue is whether the liquidation wave simply removes excess leverage or develops into a broader decline in spot demand.

The $164 million liquidation event has already reduced some bullish leverage, while the $2.88 trillion market cap shows how quickly crypto can lose value when leveraged positions unwind.