Bitcoin Holds Up Better as Ether, XRP Traders Bear the Brunt of $630M Liquidation Wave

$735M in Crypto Liquidations as Altcoin Traders Take the Biggest Hit

A sharp downturn in crypto markets on Tuesday led to $735 million in liquidations, with altcoin traders bearing the brunt of the selloff.

Ethereum (ETH) and XRP saw the largest long liquidations — an unusual divergence from Bitcoin (BTC), which typically leads in notional volume. According to CoinGlass data, ETH liquidations totaled $152.78 million, while XRP followed with $88.58 million. BTC saw a relatively lower $65.29 million in long positions liquidated.

The majority of the wiped-out trades — $625.5 million — were long positions, indicating that the pullback caught bullish traders off guard amid recent optimism and upward momentum.

Other heavily affected tokens included:

• Solana (SOL): $41 million
• Dogecoin (DOGE): $40 million
• Smaller DeFi tokens SPK and PUMP also saw over $10 million in liquidations each.

The correction came without a clear external trigger, though analysts point to profit-taking near major resistance levels. ETH recently approached $4,000, and BTC had tested $118,000, both of which attracted selling pressure.

At the time of writing:

• ETH trades around $3,540, down 3.6%
• XRP is down 6% to $3.25, extending weekly losses to over 12%
• BTC is holding near $116,800, down less than 2%

Liquidations occur when traders using leverage fail to meet margin requirements, triggering forced position closures. These events often cascade, especially in altcoin markets where leverage is more aggressively used by retail participants.

Market watchers monitor liquidation spikes as indicators of trend exhaustion or potential reversals. While heavy long liquidations can signal panic bottoms, short liquidations may precede sharp upward squeezes. When combined with funding rates and open interest trends, liquidation data remains a key tool for assessing positioning and sentiment in high-volatility environments.