Crypto liquidations hit $12.5 billion in October 2026 as longs take the beating

Bullish traders absorbed $9.213 billion of the month's forced closures as Bitcoin swung between $76,000 and $84,000 October 2026 was an expensive month to be wrong in crypto. Total liquidations reached $12.5 billion, and most of that pain landed on traders betting prices would go up. Long positions accounted for $9.213 billion of the wipeouts. Shorts lost $3.29 billion. Optimism, it turns out, was the costlier bet. Where the $12.5 billion went Traders use leverage, meaning borrowed funds, to magnify their bets. When the market moves against them far enough, the exchange closes the position automatically to cover the loan. The trader’s collateral is gone, and the decision was never theirs to make. In October, roughly 74% of those forced closures hit long positions. These are traders who borrowed to bet on rising prices. The market did not cooperate. The worst single day came on October 30. Nearly $1.67 billion was liquidated in one session, and 86% of it came from longs. October 30 was not an isolated flare-up, either. Daily liquidation spikes topped $500 million on several occasions during the month. Bitcoin’s range and the exchanges that cleared it Bitcoin spent the month trading ...