Bitcoin recovered after an overnight sell-off. Most of the leveraged positions forcibly closed had bet on rising prices. U.S. spot Bitcoin funds also posted a net outflow in the previous session.
Bitcoin recovered above $83,000 on October 13 after slipping below $82,000 earlier in the day. The price shown on CoinGlass was about $83,600 at 10:02 UTC. At that time, the provider’s rolling 24-hour liquidation total stood at $812.9 million, with long positions accounting for 84.5%.
The Block had reported a price of $81,382 during the earlier sell-off, based on an observation at 9:20 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on October 12, or 01:20 UTC on October 13. The later quote was roughly $2,200 above that level.
Long positions account for most forced closures
Across the 10 exchanges covered by CoinGlass, liquidations comprised $686.72 million in longs and $126.19 million in shorts. Liquidation is the forced closure of a position when its margin is no longer sufficient to keep the trade open. Longs are exposed to falling prices; shorts come under pressure when prices rise. For isolated-margin positions, an estimated liquidation price can be calculated from entry price, leverage and margin; the actual threshold depends on platform rules.
Bitcoin positions accounted for about $192.14 million in liquidations and Ethereum positions for $180.52 million, a combined $372.7 million. The largest single order observed by CoinGlass was a $9.65 million BTC/USDT long on Binance, recorded at a price of $81,772.75.
The $813 million total is not a Bitcoin-only loss. CoinGlass’s aggregate dashboard includes derivatives tracking stock and commodity symbols alongside crypto assets. Liquidation value measures positions forcibly closed; it is not money withdrawn from spot markets or a decline in total market capitalization.
The figures cover the preceding 24 hours at the time of the check, rather than a calendar day. Totals change as new liquidations are recorded and earlier trades fall outside the 24-hour period. CoinGlass also notes that exchanges’ reporting frequencies can cause brief delays during periods of heavy volatility.
Bitcoin ETFs recorded $65.4 million in outflows
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $65.4 million in net outflows in the October 12 session, according to SoSoValue’s completed daily update. Trading volume totaled $1.23 billion and net assets stood at $106.06 billion. Net fund flows, secondary-market turnover and assets under management measure different things; the ETF outflow is not added to the liquidation figure.
Fundstrat research head Tom Lee wrote on X on October 13 that the sharp decline in South Korean equities might be spilling into crypto. He pointed to margin liquidations at brokerages and Korean investors’ crypto holdings. CoinGlass’s figures do not identify traders’ home countries or the reasons for their sales, so they do not confirm Lee’s explanation.
