The crypto market has just absorbed another wave of heavy liquidations that many traders now see as the new normal. On November 14, more than 1.1 billion dollars in leveraged positions were wiped out, mostly longs, and the pattern repeated on November 18 with another 1.03 billion. These back-to-back shocks reveal a market that reacts with intense sensitivity to even moderate price moves, affecting both retail and institutional traders.
On November 14, exchanges liquidated 1.1 billion dollars, including 968 million in long positions and impacting over 246,000 traders. Four days later, another 1.03 billion dollars in liquidations affected more than 190,000 traders. Longs accounted for 726.5 million dollars, and the largest single liquidation was a 96.51 million dollar BTC-USD position on Hyperliquid. These events followed declines that pushed Bitcoin under 93,000 dollars and Ethereum below 3,000 dollars, extending a five-week downturn that erased an estimated 1.2 trillion dollars in market value.
Structural risks behind the cascade
Earlier episodes in 2025 already showed how fragile the market has become. In early February, estimates suggest between 8 and 10 billion dollars were liquidated over two days, depending on the source. July 23 brought another 1.29 billion, and September 22 reached between 1.7 and 1.8 billion. The most dramatic moment came on October 10, when a macro shock triggered 19 billion dollars in liquidations in a single day, sending Bitcoin from above 125,000 dollars to below 113,000 and removing roughly 400 billion dollars from the market.
At the heart of this pattern is extreme leverage. In markets where traders operate with 20x, 50x or even 100x exposure, a small 2 percent price drop can trigger forced liquidations that ignite further selling and drain liquidity. The Kobeissi Letter described it as a hypersensitive market shaped by excessive leverage. The problem has been amplified by declining institutional liquidity since mid-October and the sudden movement of dormant Bitcoin, including 4,668 BTC worth around 440 million dollars. Analysts warn that Bitcoin’s support near 93,000 dollars could stay under pressure as 4.7 billion dollars in options approach expiration, a point also raised by Nic Puckrin of The Coin Bureau, who noted that leverage has been flushed out but volatility will remain high.
The recurring billion-dollar liquidation days point to a structural issue: a market overloaded with leverage and fading liquidity will continue producing extreme episodes. The next key moment will be the 4.7 billion dollars in options expiring, a test that will reveal whether the market can absorb renewed stress or slip into another cascade.
