Altcoins took the worst of this week’s sell-off as a sudden leverage unwind triggered a wave of forced liquidations across major tokens, wiping out roughly $1.44 billion in positions over 24 hours, data from Coinglass shows. Fast-moving cascade Liquidations escalated quickly: Coinglass logs show $427.8 million gone in a single hour, $661.6 million within four hours, and $930.2 million by the 12-hour mark, culminating in about $1.44 billion over a full day. The blow was overwhelmingly borne by long traders — roughly $1.26 billion of the total was long-side liquidations versus about $187 million in shorts — indicating markets had been heavily positioned for an altcoin rebound and were suddenly caught offside. Altcoins hit hardest While Bitcoin’s dip added broad pressure, altcoins absorbed a disproportionate share of the forced selling. Ethereum suffered the largest immediate hit, with more than $120 million liquidated in the last hour alone as leveraged long positions were flushed across exchanges. Solana saw about $33 million wiped out, XRP more than $13 million, and Dogecoin and Sui also registered elevated liquidation activity — underscoring how the deleveraging event spread across large- and mid-cap altcoins. Exchange-level picture Long liquidations dominated across major venues, not just isolated platforms. Binance, Bybit, Hyperliquid, OKX, and Gate all reported significantly higher long-side losses than shorts over the 24-hour window, suggesting a broad-based unwind rather than an exchange-specific incident. Why this matters Rapid, clustered liquidations can amplify downside momentum: as forced selling hits thinner order books — a common condition in many altcoin markets — prices fall faster and volatility spikes. Historical Coinglass data over the past 90 days shows similar correction-driven cascades, but this episode ranks among the more severe recent events in terms of long-side dominance. That leverage reset can be a short-term stabilizing mechanism, since many fragile positions are cleared, but it typically comes alongside sharp drawdowns and leaves the market exposed to renewed volatility if sellers remain active or traders rush back into leveraged bets. What to watch next With a substantial portion of leveraged longs already trimmed, prices may find breathing room if selling pressure subsides. However, renewed weakness in Bitcoin, aggressive re-leveraging, or fresh macro shocks could quickly rekindle volatility across altcoins. Source: Coinglass. Disclaimer: AMBCrypto’s content is informational and not investment advice. Cryptocurrency trading carries high risk; readers should do their own research before acting. © 2026 AMBCrypto Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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