$435M wiped out in crypto liquidations as Bitcoin sags near $78,000

Roughly $435 million in crypto positions got flushed out over the past 24 hours, and the pain landed mostly on traders betting on higher prices. CoinGlass tallies total liquidations at about $440 million across 91,821 traders. Longs ate $269 million of that — 61.2% of the damage — while shorts gave back $171 million.

Bitcoin wore the biggest target, with $163.8 million liquidated, according to the data. Ethereum followed at $68 million, and the rest of the market chipped in about $50 million combined, a fairly even spread across altcoins. The single heaviest hit was a $5.03 million liquidation on Binance's ETHUSDT market.

The spot picture isn't pretty either. BTC is hovering near $78,006 after sliding back from October highs around $87,000 — a retreat that makes a fresh leg of recovery look unlikely. The coin is now pressing into a support band between $76,000 and $78,000, right where several longer-term moving averages stack up.

Sellers have a clear ceiling to clear: resistance sits around $80,000 to $82,000, with multiple moving averages bunched there to cap any climb. If the $76,000 floor gives way, the next landing zones look like $74,000 and then $70,000. Momentum gauges aren't helping — the Relative Strength Index is drifting toward the lower half of its range, so the bullish push is fading without the market being deeply oversold yet.

The wreckage concentrated on a few venues. Hyperliquid logged about $39.84 million in liquidations across four hours, 40.8% of that window's total. Binance came next at $29 million, with OKX at $9.09 million.

Here's the catch: the liquidation numbers alone don't prove outside events triggered the sell-off. Traders trimming risk plus heavy leverage can magnify every swing on their own. If Bitcoin holds that $76,000 zone, things could settle — but a breakdown would likely drag another wave of forced selling along with it.