A single trader on the Hyperliquid platform lost 201 BTC, worth approximately $15.6 million, in just eight successive liquidations. The wipeout occurred as a sharp Wall Street selloff triggered panic in crypto markets, demonstrating how quickly high leverage can erase large positions during sudden market swings.
The trader's losses came amid heavy panic selling, leading to eight forced closures of leveraged positions. Liquidations happen when an exchange forcibly closes a position because the trader’s margin can no longer cover losses, often during sharp price moves. The incident underscores the risks of high leverage on platforms like Hyperliquid, where sudden price changes can trigger cascading margin calls.
The broader market impact was significant, with 209,826 traders facing liquidation in 24 hours, totaling $1.08 billion. Long positions accounted for $956 million, or 88% of the total, while shorts contributed only $130.78 million. Bitcoin led with $282.37 million in liquidations, followed by Ethereum at $173.75 million. Binance captured the largest share of overall liquidations, at 44.3%.
The stress began on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite plunged nearly 5% intraday on November 5, marking its worst session in months. AI and chip stocks led the decline amid post-midterm uncertainty and growing doubts about the AI boom. The S&P 500 fell roughly 3.8%, and the rout quickly spread to crypto markets. Bitcoin dropped to a low of $75,572, while Ethereum hit $2,239, and Solana lost 5.9%.
Michaël van de Poppe noted on X, 'My thesis on #Bitcoin hasn’t changed… The past 24 hours have been heavily influenced by leverage trading… Now, $75,000 remains the best, obvious spot for longs, and it coincides with Nasdaq’s low, which has been targeted at 26,500…' The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stands at a neutral 50, down from 73 last month, indicating cooling sentiment but not outright fear.