Crypto markets didn't budge in the last 24 hours, but the leverage behind them burned a path through over $280 million in trader accounts. Bitcoin ended where it started, and ether dipped slightly, but the volatility around a Federal Reserve decision still wreaked havoc on derivatives traders.
Bulls and bears took similar losses
In a rare twist, long and short positions fared nearly equally badly. About $186 million in longs were liquidated, alongside $100 million in shorts, as prices swung less than 2% but enough to knock out leveraged traders. Bitcoin moved between $63,247 and $64,660, yet the smallest shifts were enough to clear $57 million in positions.
Ether saw the most damage among major coins, with $58 million in wiped-out positions. Longs bore the brunt of the losses, as prices hovered between $1,920 and $1,850. One trader on Binance lost $2.9 million in a single bitcoin position, the largest liquidation of the period.
AI bets on stock futures backfired
Beyond crypto, equity perpetuals suffered a similar fate. Positions on names like SanDisk, Micron, and SK Hynix were hit when the chip sector tumbled. On crypto exchanges, $19 million in SanDisk was wiped out and $10 million in Micron. The leveraged SOXL ETF lost $7 million as traders were caught off guard by the largest chip selloff of the year.
Micron and SanDisk both showed long positions losing at least 7 to 1, with $9 million and $19 million liquidated respectively. Traders had placed their bets on AI memory stocks rising, but the timing was off. SK Hynix fell 17% on Wednesday after missing profit expectations, adding pressure to a Kospi index that has now dropped over 40% from its June high.
Equity perpetuals on crypto exchanges again in the spotlight
This isn't the first time equity perpetuals have caused headaches. Monday saw $60 million in liquidations after a pre-market trade triggered a 19% drop in a SK Hynix contract on Trade.xyz. The exchange later agreed to reimburse the losses.
The pattern of liquidation suggests traders are increasingly using crypto infrastructure to speculate on traditional markets. While it can offer efficiency and yield benefits, it also amplifies risk when underlying assets drop sharply.
