Bitcoin Crashes to $74K in Record $2.5B Weekend Liquidation

Bitcoin suffered its worst weekend in months, plummeting to $74,662 in a brutal selloff that triggered the largest single-day liquidation event in cryptocurrency history. The crash wiped out approximately $2.5 billion in leveraged positions and erased over $200 billion in total crypto market value within hours.

As of Sunday morning, Bitcoin is trading around $77,000, still down significantly from Friday's levels and marking a 40% decline from its October 2025 peak of $126,000. The severity of the liquidations has surpassed even the notorious FTX collapse in November 2022, which saw $1.6 billion in forced closures.

Record-Breaking Liquidation Event

The numbers tell a stark story. According to Coinglass data, approximately $2.5 billion in leveraged long positions were forcibly liquidated on Saturday alone, with nearly 200,000 trader accounts blown out in the process.

Bitcoin longs accounted for roughly $767 million of the damage, while Ethereum positions saw $414 million liquidated. The largest single casualty was an $220 million ETH position on Hyperliquid, highlighting how even sophisticated traders were caught off guard by the weekend violence.

Liquidation Comparison:

Saturday's crash: $2.5 billion
FTX collapse (Nov 2022): $1.6 billion
COVID crash (March 2020): $1.2 billion

Long positions made up 93% of total liquidations, revealing just how heavily traders had bet on upside before the floor gave way. The forced selling created a cascading effect—as prices dropped, more positions hit their liquidation thresholds, triggering additional automatic selling that accelerated the decline.

Three Factors Behind the Crash

Reports of escalating U.S.-Iran military tensions sent investors into a "flight to safety" mode on Saturday. With traditional markets closed for the weekend, Bitcoin—trading 24/7—became an immediate liquidity source as traders rushed to raise cash and reduce risk exposure.

Weekend trading features thinner liquidity as institutional players step away. When panic selling hit, there weren't enough buyers to absorb the pressure, causing prices to gap down violently.

The broader market wasn't spared. Gold crashed 9% Friday to around $4,900 per ounce, while silver suffered a historic 26% collapse. Rather than acting as a hedge, Bitcoin fell harder than traditional assets, trading like a high-beta risk asset during the turmoil.

Adding pressure, Kevin Warsh's recent Federal Reserve nomination sparked dollar strength, weighing on all assets priced in USD—including Bitcoin.

Thin Liquidity Amplifies Moves

Beyond immediate catalysts, the crash exposed structural market weaknesses persisting since the October 10 liquidity crisis. Market depth remains 30% below October peaks, with order books still not fully rebuilt and spreads wider than normal.

These conditions mean modest selling can trigger outsized price moves—especially during low-liquidity weekends when institutional buyers are absent.

Altcoin Carnage

Major altcoins suffered amplified losses as the Bitcoin selloff spread across the market:

Saturday's Damage:

Ethereum: Dropped below $2,300 (now trading around $2,230)
Solana: Fell below the psychologically important $100 level (currently $99.85)
Total crypto market cap: Declined to $2.54 trillion, losing over $200 billion in 24 hours

Most altcoins posted double-digit percentage losses, with smaller-cap tokens seeing declines of 15-25% as leveraged positions across the board were unwound.

Strategy Holdings Go Underwater

Bitcoin's dip below $76,000 pushed Strategy's massive holdings into the red for the first time since October 2023. The company holds 712,647 BTC purchased at an average cost of $76,037 per coin.

However, Strategy faces no forced selling risk. All holdings are unencumbered—none pledged as collateral—and convertible debt doesn't mature until mid-2027. Executive chairman Michael Saylor signaled continued conviction with a Sunday post stating "More Orange," his typical signal of additional Bitcoin purchases.

Divergent Investor Behavior

On-chain data reveals a stark split in investor behavior during the crash. Small holders—those with less than 10 BTC—have been persistently selling for over a month, with Saturday's panic representing an acceleration of existing capitulation.

In contrast, "mega-whales" holding 1,000 or more BTC have been quietly accumulating, absorbing coins that retail traders are dumping. However, their buying hasn't been sufficient to arrest the decline, suggesting even large players are being selective about entry points.

What Comes Next

Key levels to watch:

Support:

$75,000-$76,000: Current range and Strategy's cost basis
$70,000: Psychological round number
$60,000: Major support from mid-2024

Resistance:

$80,000: Near-term ceiling
$85,000: Former support, now resistance

The weekend's damage has extended Bitcoin's losing streak to four consecutive months—the longest since 2018.

Building on recent weakness that saw Bitcoin break critical support levels, the cryptocurrency has now given back all gains stretching back to April 2025.

Despite the improving regulatory environment and long-term positive developments, short-term price action remains under severe pressure.

For long-term holders, periods of maximum pain have historically presented accumulation opportunities. However, the risk of further downside means patience may be more valuable than trying to catch a falling knife.

Market participants will watch closely when Asian and European markets open Sunday evening to see whether the weekend selloff triggers follow-through selling or attracts value buyers.

Data Sources: CoinDesk, Coinglass, Glassnode, Bloomberg