Crypto Wipes Out $120B as Longs Get Crushed

Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Solana all broke down on Thursday, and the damage rippled across every corner of the market. The total crypto market cap slid to $2.57 trillion, down from $2.69 trillion a day earlier — a wipeout of more than $120 billion, or roughly 4.46%, per CoinMarketCap data reviewed by Coinpedia. The drop came as a flash crash rather than a slow bleed.

The top coins took the worst of it. Bitcoin gave up 4.46%, Ethereum dropped 6.68%, XRP fell 4.45% and Solana lost 5.9%, according to the same data. But the real accelerant was leverage. Crypto derivatives booked about $1.06 billion in liquidations over 24 hours, with $934.73 million of that coming from long positions, CoinGlass metrics show — a textbook long squeeze, where forced selling begets more selling.

The pressure wasn't born in crypto. Renewed geopolitical tensions rattled risk appetite, and the Nasdaq-100 Index slumped to its lowest level in 196 days as artificial intelligence stocks slid deeper into a broader bear market. With equities wobbling, crypto caught the spillover — macro headwinds piling onto an already jittery tape.

Not everyone is reading the red candles as a death knell. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez says the downturn looks like the 'disbelief' phase of the bull cycle, which in his view points to a potential near-term recovery. There's also chatter of a possible bull run before the year closes, even as fears of an AI bubble popping continue to spook traders.

For now, the scoreboard is simple: billions in long positions gone, a market cap $120 billion lighter, and a market watching the Nasdaq for its next cue.