Bybit CEO estimates crypto traders were liquidated for $8-10 billion in last day alone
2025-02-04
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Bitcoin's price has rebounded slightly, now hovering just above $98,000 after a day of intense market volatility.
The scale of the turbulence is underscored by Coinglass data, which reports total cryptocurrency liquidations over the past 24 hours at more than $2.38 billion, with over $1.19 billion in long positions wiped out. However, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou suggests the actual figure could be significantly higher, estimating total crypto liquidations over the past day at $8–10 billion.
"I am afraid that today real total liquidation is a lot more than $2 billion, by my estimation it should be at least around $8-10 billion," Bybit CEO Ben Zhou posted on X.com. "Bybit 24-hour liquidation alone was $2.1 billion."
Zhou pointed out discrepancies in publicly available liquidation data, noting that Coinglass reports Bybit’s 24-hour liquidations at just $333 million. He attributed this to API limitations restricting how much data can be pushed per second. "From my observation, other exchanges also practice the same to limit liquidation data," Zhou said. "Moving forward, Bybit will start to push all liquidation data."
Despite the massive liquidation event, bitcoin is holding above the $98,000 mark, highlighting the relative resilience of major tokens, while the sell-off dealt the hardest blow to riskier assets further out on the curve. "Risk assets are lower, dragging digital assets lower, and it makes sense that the further out the risk curve you go in digital assets, the larger the sell-off," Standard Chartered Head of Digital Assets Research Geoff Kendrick said in a Monday note.
The sudden market correction that has shaken the cryptocurrency sector, comes as cryptocurrency trading volumes surged to $99 billion, representing a 173% increase from typical daily averages. This spike in activity highlights intense market participation during the sell-off. In a snapshot of market volatility, XRP — the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization — fell 27% yesterday, bringing its market cap down to $148 billion. "This was a $200 billion coin just hours ago, crypto has redefined the term 'volatile,'" The Kobeissi Letter posted.
The market movement has drawn the attention of financial experts, including Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, who took to social media platform X to share his perspective. Kiyosaki described the situation as “brutal” but potentially rewarding for prepared investors. "BRUTAL CRASH HERE NOW, the stock, bond, real estate, gold, silver, and bitcoin markets are crashing," he posted. "The best assets in the world are going on sale. Millions will lose their jobs. This is the best time to get rich. Don’t be a loser. Stay cool. Take care."
Tariffs, trade wars, and market volatility
The crypto market downturn comes as U.S. president Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs: a 25% levy on Canadian and Mexican goods and a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. Canada retaliated with its own 25% tariff on $106 billion worth of U.S. goods, and Mexico is expected to follow suit.
"Trump is asserting his dominance in the global market, but with less deep thoughts on trade,"WeFi Head of Growth Agne Linge said. "While it is still early in his presidency, he believes prioritizing American-First in terms of trade can strengthen local manufacturing and consolidate the consumer sector."
Linge noted how Trump had earlier stated his aim to make firms produce their products in the U.S. "Should the market align with his view, the inflationary concerns may blow away soon, returning normalcy to traditional market and bitcoin by extension," Linge added.
The announcement sent shockwaves through global financial markets. U.S. Treasury 2-year yields rose while 10-year yields fell—signaling short-term inflation concerns and long-term trade war risks.
Equities fell across global markets and oil spiked. QCP Capital analysts stressed that market participants should expect continued volatility as Trump prepares to negotiate with Canada and Mexico tonight, while asserting that tariffs on the EU are "definitely happening."
Following this, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said tariffs will be paused for a month, bringing some positivity back to the market and encouraging bitcoin's rebound.
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