Bitcoin slides on leverage reset as $600M longs wiped

• Lyla Velez
• February 24, 2026
• News
• 0 Comments

Key Points:

• Rapid downdraft triggered cascading margin calls, flushing leveraged longs across venues.
• Leverage reset: perp and futures liquidations accelerated spot declines, turning risk-off.
• Options clustering near $70k–$75k formed liquidity traps; ADL mechanics magnified losses.

Leveraged long positions were flushed across major crypto venues after a rapid downdraft, triggering cascading margin calls and forced closures, according to AMBCrypto. The sequence reflects a classic leverage reset, where perp and futures liquidations accelerate spot moves, reinforcing a short-term risk-off tone.

Analysts highlighted the role of elevated open interest and options positioning in funneling price toward liquidity pockets, as reported by BeInCrypto in coverage of Arthur Hayes’s market views. Concentrated options open interest around the $70,000–$75,000 region, alongside pivotal spot levels near $78,000 and $75,000, can act as a “liquidity trap,” hastening a cascade once thresholds give way.

Exchange mechanics may amplify outcomes in extreme deleveraging. Based on an academic study on a separate event, researchers found autodeleveraging (ADL) over-use during a rapid liquidation on Hyperliquid imposed roughly $630 million in unnecessary haircuts to winning traders (arXiv). While venues and conditions differ, the episode underscores how risk engines and insurance-fund design can shape realized losses.

How big was the wipeout, and who got hit

Roughly $620 million in crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, with long positions bearing the majority of losses, according to CoinBackyard. The scale indicates a broad de-risking that extended beyond Bitcoin into large-cap and altcoin perpetuals.

Bitcoin fell from about $67,600 to $64,400 in two hours, setting off more than $500 million in liquidations across the market, as reported by Decrypt. That move left Bitcoin and Ethereum accounting for a significant share of the forced closures, with spillovers into thinner altcoin order books.

Market commentary around such events varies, and interpretations are not uniform. “Don’t panic. Use those as an opportunity to get into the markets. They are a blessing,” said Michael van de Poppe, analyst at MN Capital, in remarks following a comparable liquidation wave.

Largest single liquidation: $61.5M BTC long in 24 hours

A single $61.5 million long Bitcoin position was liquidated in the past 24 hours, marking the largest individual forced closure in the period, according to Binance’s Square post. The outsized position capitulation arrived as weekend gains faded, reinforcing the broader deleveraging.

Large single-position liquidations of this kind typically signal crowded leverage and can accelerate cross-position stress when liquidity thins. After such wipes, open interest often resets and funding normalizes, but subsequent direction tends to hinge on whether spot demand stabilizes and whether further forced selling emerges.