Crypto liquidations hit $2B as BTC hits $81K, ETH crashes 12%

The sharp decline in cryptocurrency prices has seen global crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours surpass $2 billion.

Market data shows a 220% jump in the total amount of leveraged positions across crypto that have forcefully closed amid the latest market bloodbath.

Bitcoin, the bellwether crypto asset, leads the liquidations rout after BTC tumbled below $82,000.

Ethereum, XRP and Solana have also witnessed a significant dump as broader economic unease cascades into crypto market sentiment.

Crypto sees nearly $2 billion in 24 hours liquidations

The liquidation cascade accelerated as of November 20, 2025. On the day, market reaction to macroeconomic developments and other factors triggered a price dump.

Immediately, leveraged positions began to unravel as bulls who bet on prices breaking out were caught off guard.

As prices breached critical support levels, led by BTC’s dump to lows of $81,650, liquidations jumped 220% to over $2 billion.

As per Coinglass data, total liquidations as of writing on Nov. 21 stood at $2.02 billion.

Over $1.87 billion across major exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Bybit was for longs.

These bets on Bitcoin, Ethereum and other top coins by optimistic traders dwarfed the $147 million in short positions. 

Notably, Bitcoin bore the brunt of the wipeout. Data showed bulls suffered over $1.02 billion in forceful closures.

Ethereum had about $425 million wiped out, while Solana accounted for about $102 million, and XRP roughly $32 million.

Per Coinglass, in the past 24 hours, a total of over 405,310 traders got rekt.

The largest single liquidation order over the period stood at $36.7 million and occurred on Hyperliquid in the BTC/USD pair.

Just over $2 billion in liquidations is tiny in the context of a $2.85 trillion market cap.

However, the surge has eroded liquidity amid a fresh outlook on heightened systemic risks.

The liquidations also pale in comparison to the $19 billion liquidation frenzy of October 10, 2025.

However, the surge points to a potential acceleration should prices plummet further. Such weakness could signal trouble and add to bearish pressures.

What’s the market outlook?

The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index has plummeted to 14, with the metric now in extreme fear.

Last time this flashed as low as this was during the crypto market crash in late 2022.

The recent downward pressure on the cryptocurrency market could be the result of deep holes in the balance sheets of market makers, according to

Tom Lee, chairman of Ether treasury company BitMine and co-founder of Fundstrat, has linked the market downtrend to the Oct. 10 record $19 billion liquidations.

He said this in comments shared during an interview on CNBC on Nov. 20.

According to Lee, the crash saw many market makers sink into notable holes, and the liquidity issues linger.

The headwinds have also gained momentum as December interest rate cut expectations plummet.

Despite this, Lee foresees a year-end rebound for Bitcoin and Ethereum. BitMine showed this confidence with a fresh ETH buy on Nov. 20.

The post Crypto liquidations hit $2B as BTC hits $81K, ETH crashes 12% appeared first on Invezz