Bitcoin Falls Below $81,000 as Nearly $1 Billion in Crypto Bets Liquidated

Author: Crypffalo Research · 11:55 15/10/2026

Bitcoin slid under $81,000 on Oct 15, triggering about $480 million in liquidations within one hour, more than 95% of them longs. Ether fell roughly 6% to around $2,350.

Bitcoin Falls Below $81,000 as Nearly $1 Billion in Crypto Bets Liquidated

Bitcoin slipped below $81,000 between roughly 02:20 and 02:40 UTC on Oct 15 (9:20–9:40 a.m. GMT+7), setting off a dense wave of liquidations across derivatives venues. CoinGlass data showed about $480 million to $490 million in positions force-closed within a single hour, with longs making up more than 95%.

Ether took a harder hit, falling around 6% over 24 hours to roughly $2,350. Total market-wide liquidations over 24 hours reached between $930 million and $1.1 billion, depending on the snapshot.

Key takeaways

Price action: BTC broke below $81,000, with an intraday low near $80,650–$80,900 depending on the venue; ETH dropped to about $2,350.
One-hour liquidations: roughly $476 million to $486 million, of which longs accounted for about $457 million to $465 million.
Most liquidated: ETH at about $200 million and BTC at about $110 million to $117 million in the same hour.
Venues: Binance took about 62% of that hour's liquidations, followed by Bybit and Hyperliquid.
Backdrop: U.S. September CPI came in at 3.7%, above forecasts, reviving concerns that the Fed may keep hiking.

How the Oct 15 sell-off unfolded

Bitcoin had been chopping between $82,500 and $83,500 after the U.S. inflation print on Oct 14. Once price broke through $82,000 on heavy volume, leveraged longs began getting wiped out in quick succession.

Market-watch accounts flagged about $350 million in long liquidations within just 10 minutes. It was a classic cascade: each forced sale added selling pressure and pushed price into the next liquidation cluster.

CoinGlass figures as of about 02:35 UTC showed:

One-hour liquidations: about $476 million, including roughly $457 million in longs and only about $18 million in shorts.
By venue: Binance about $292 million, Bybit about $63 million, Hyperliquid about $34 million.
Largest single liquidation: about $12 million on Binance's BTCUSDT pair.
Traders liquidated over 24 hours: about 174,600.

One-hour liquidations on Oct 15 by coin and by long/short side

Ether and altcoins fell harder than bitcoin

Ether was the center of this flush, with liquidations exceeding bitcoin's. According to CoinDesk, ETH open interest still stood near $30 billion and BTC near $52 billion, a sign that plenty of leverage remains in the system.

Major altcoins slid in tandem:

XRP and Solana: down about 5% over 24 hours, with SOL near $102.
Dogecoin: down about 6%.
Zcash (ZEC): down around 11% to 13%, among the steeper decliners in the large-cap group.

24-hour declines across major cryptocurrencies on Oct 15

By late morning in Asia, bitcoin had bounced slightly to around $81,500 and ether to about $2,380. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped from 62 to 53.

Why is crypto down?

No single event has been confirmed as the direct trigger. Reports point mainly to macro pressure that has been building for several days:

U.S. CPI rose 3.7% year over year in September, above the 3.6% forecast, lifting bets on further Fed rate hikes.
The U.S. dollar index (DXY) climbed to its highest level in more than a year, weighing on risk assets.
U.S. stocks fell: the Nasdaq lost about 1.9% and the S&P 500 about 1.1%, while chip stocks dropped for a sixth straight session.
Middle East tensions and high oil prices remain a backdrop after the Houthi attack on an Aramco facility.

What it means for crypto markets

This flush was mainly a long-side deleveraging, as many positions opened around $82,000–$83,000 were forced out. After events like this, the risk of another immediate cascade often eases, but direction still hinges on the upcoming macro data.

Bull case: Softer-than-expected U.S. PPI and retail sales, combined with cleaner positioning, help BTC reclaim the $82,000–$83,000 zone.
Risk case: Inflation and yields keep rising and Fed hike bets grow, sending BTC back to retest the session low near $80,650 and potentially lower levels.

ETH has been weaker than BTC in this move, so flows from ether funds and treasury companies are worth watching. For background, see how liquidation prices are calculated and why high leverage gets swept in sessions like this.

What to watch next

Oct 15 (U.S. morning): producer price index (PPI), September retail sales and weekly jobless claims.
Oct 15: the Fed's Beige Book; G20 finance meetings.
Oct 16: Fed's Christopher Waller speaks at the IMF Annual Meetings.
Oct 17: token unlocks for ASTER, CRO and DBR.
Track bitcoin and ether ETF flows and live liquidations on our real-time liquidations page and economic calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did bitcoin fall below $81,000 on Oct 15?

Pressure came from hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation, a strong dollar and falling U.S. stocks. Once price broke $82,000, a chain of long liquidations amplified the drop.

How much was liquidated?

According to CoinGlass, about $476 million to $486 million was liquidated in one hour and roughly $930 million to $1.1 billion over 24 hours, mostly longs.

Is this an unusually large liquidation event?

Nearly $1 billion in a day is notable, but it is far below the roughly $19 billion liquidation event on Oct 10, 2025.

*This content is for information only and is not financial advice.*

Tags: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Liquidations, CPI, Fed

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