Ethereum market structure improves after Binance leverage flush

Ethereum traders on Binance just went through a forced spring cleaning. Approximately $345 million in long positions were liquidated on the exchange during an October 8-9 sell-off, according to a CryptoQuant analysis published October 16, 2026. CryptoQuant’s read is that the flush reset leverage and improved market structure. A truly bullish setup, though, still depends on two things the market doesn’t yet have: USDT flowing back into exchanges and a rising Coinbase Premium. What the liquidation event actually did ETH fell roughly 10% from its September highs, sliding from approximately $2,775 to approximately $2,500. That drop was enough to knock over a large stack of leveraged long bets on Binance. Long liquidations on Binance increased by 47%, per the CryptoQuant data. Funding rates on the exchange dropped to near zero. Funding rates are the periodic payments that keep perpetual futures prices tethered to spot prices. When they run high, longs are paying a premium to stay in the trade, which usually signals crowded optimism. Near zero means that crowd has thinned out considerably. Binance’s ETH futures open interest fell 4.7% over 30 days to around $6.1 billion. That figure repr...