The crypto market has endured its most volatile week in months, culminating in the largest liquidation event since December 2024. As the global market cap stands at $3.78 trillion (up 1% in 24 hours), fear lingers among investors, with the Fear & Greed Index sitting at a wary 34. This latest shakeout saw both major and altcoin prices spiral downward, sending leveraged traders scrambling and forcing exchanges to close over $1.7 billion in positions in a single sweep.
September 2025’s “Red September” proved brutal for bulls. Ethereum was hit hardest, diving roughly 12% on the week and tumbling below its crucial $4,000 support, a decline unmatched since June.
Bitcoin lost about 5%, retreating to near $109,000, while Dogecoin and Solana each clocked weekly losses of 21%. In total, nearly $300 billion in value was erased from the sector in a matter of days, highlighting the extreme risk and fragility triggered by excessive leverage and thin liquidity.
The week’s brutal selloff saw over $1.65 billion in leveraged positions forcibly liquidated, with long bets making up almost 88% of the total clear-out. Ethereum dominated the liquidation charts, responsible for more than $309 million of closed positions, outstripping Bitcoin’s $246 million in liquidations. This was the largest wave of forced closures in the crypto market since December 2024.
“Largest liquidation in the Crypto market since December 9th, 2024… These are leveraged positions closed by force. Most were longs on #ETH.”
Within the broader market, the DeFi category bore the brunt of the pain as massively leveraged futures positions were “deleveraged” in a cascading effect. The average crypto Relative Strength Index (RSI) slid to 44.95, echoing widespread weakness. Liquidation heatmaps reveal large clusters centered around major altcoins and tokens favored by retail traders and funds.
“High leverage + volatility = recipe for liquidation… Financial education means learning about risk management – it’s not optional – and recognising that market drops also teach valuable lessons.”
Experts agree this cleansing flush of leverage has the potential to stabilize market positioning, but until risk appetite revives, volatility may persist. With the Altcoin Season Index at 70/100, altcoins remain relatively strong, but the lesson is clear: unbridled leverage can rapidly turn bullish optimism into panic-driven selloffs.
The spike is by a sharp drop in major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin, and by high leverage. This forced exchanges to close out more than $1.7 billion in risky positions, mostly longs.
Ethereum saw the steepest drop, falling about 12% and registered the highest liquidation volume at over $309 million.
The DeFi sector and leveraged futures took the biggest hit, as the majority of liquidations came from overleveraged long bets.
CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Pepe (PEPE) price is on the verge of a further selloff. The top-tier frog-themed memecoin…
The crypto market continued with its recent bloodbath on Wednesday, November 12. Bitcoin (BTC) led…
Bitcoin and Ethereum are struggling to stay above support zones after another wave of selling…
Dogecoin may be heading for its long-awaited $1 milestone, but smart investors aren’t chasing old…
With a rebellious motto “Enough feeding Big Tech with your data and content for free,”…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has allegedly approved the first-ever XRP Spot Exchange-Traded…
