Bitcoin dropped below the $90,000 mark on Tuesday as a sudden deterioration in global risk sentiment sparked widespread forced selling across crypto markets, erasing more than $1 billion in leveraged bullish positions.
According to data from CoinGlass, 183,066 traders were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching $1.09 billion. Long positions made up nearly 92% of the total, underscoring how aggressively traders had positioned for further upside. The largest single liquidation was a $13.52 million BTCUSDT position on Bitget.
Liquidation occurs when an exchange forcibly closes a trader’s leveraged position after losses consume all or part of the trader’s initial margin. This typically happens when margin requirements can no longer be met, often accelerating price moves during periods of heightened volatility.
Such liquidation cascades are often associated with market extremes, where sentiment becomes overly skewed in one direction and a reversal may follow.
Bitcoin slid as much as 3% during the move, falling to a low of $87,800 during late U.S. trading before rebounding above $89,000 in Asia morning hours. The decline marked a reversal from last week’s consolidation near recent highs.
The crypto selloff coincided with a broader shift toward caution across global financial markets. Investors were unsettled after President Donald Trump renewed threats to impose tariffs on European nations that rejected his proposal related to Greenland, reviving concerns over trade tensions and policy uncertainty.
Adding to the pressure, a selloff in Japanese government bonds pushed global yields higher, tightening financial conditions worldwide. These crosscurrents weighed on risk assets more broadly, particularly after a prolonged rally driven by artificial-intelligence optimism had lifted global equity markets to record levels.
With positioning stretched and volatility subdued, crypto markets proved especially vulnerable once sentiment turned
