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Bitcoin tumble sparks $1.48B liquidation wave
Bitcoin’s slide below $60,000 on June 25 triggered roughly $1.48 billion in crypto liquidations as fresh U.S. inflation data drove up expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer. The move hit long traders hardest and amplified short-term volatility across spot and derivatives markets for BTC, Ethereum and XRP.
Market monitors reported a sharp intraday decline: Bitcoin (BTC) dropped about 3.3% to an intraday low near $58,188 before recovering toward $59,200 at press time. Ethereum (ETH) fell roughly 4.7% to $1,567 and XRP slipped about 3.7% to $1.03. Overall crypto market capitalization eased roughly 2.2% to around $2.13 trillion as traders digested the PCE inflation print and positioning ahead of a major options expiry.
Liquidations by the numbers
On-chain and derivatives trackers showed more than 217,700 traders were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with total forced closures totaling about $1.48 billion. Long positions comprised approximately $1.21 billion of those liquidations, while short traders absorbed roughly $270 million in losses. Bitcoin led the selloff with roughly $665 million liquidated, followed by Ethereum at about $359 million and XRP near $50.5 million.
Options expiry adds to near-term risk
A significant Bitcoin options expiry this week is compounding market stress. Data from Deribit indicates roughly $9.33 billion in Bitcoin options, equivalent to 157,611 open contracts, were due to expire on Friday. Large expiries tend to concentrate gamma and hedging flows, which can exaggerate intraday price moves as market makers and options holders rebalance.
Call open interest is heavily concentrated between the $75,000 and $90,000 strikes, while put options cluster from $20,000 to $70,000. Deribit’s calculated max pain price stands near $72,000 — well above current BTC levels — meaning many call sellers and buyers will be adjusting hedges if Bitcoin remains below those strikes into expiry. That dynamic can feed heightened short-term volatility and liquidation cascades.
Bitcoin options expiry
Derivatives posture and XRP positioning
While BTC saw substantial liquidations, XRP derivatives remained skewed toward longs. CoinGlass data showed Binance XRP traders maintaining a 2.53 long-to-short ratio and OKX traders at about 2.68, suggesting a crowded bullish bet that could be vulnerable if selling intensifies. Crowded long exposure across any major altcoin often increases liquidation risk during market drawdowns.
Analyst reactions: accumulate or caution?
Crypto commentators offered divergent takes. Popular analyst Daan Crypto Trades reiterated a patient accumulation approach, identifying a green support zone on his chart as a long-term buying area rather than a precise market bottom. He emphasized gradual accumulation around the current region and noted the weekly 200-week moving average has historically offered attractive long-term value.
Other traders took profits on shorts after the breakdown. Analyst Lennaert Snyder said he had trimmed most of his BTC short exposure, while flagging $55,000 as a tactical reaction level and remaining open to a revisit of the $40,000s if broader macro forces persist.
PCE inflation reinforces higher-for-longer Fed outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 4.1% year-over-year in May (up from 3.8% in April) and 0.4% month-over-month. Core PCE was up 0.3% for the month and 3.4% from a year earlier. While slightly below some forecasts, these readings remain well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target and reinforced a higher-for-longer interest rate narrative.
The report also showed personal income rose 0.7% and real personal consumption advanced 0.3%, underscoring persistent demand in the U.S. economy despite tighter financial conditions. First-quarter GDP was revised up to 2.1%, further complicating the Fed outlook.
Bank of America and other institutional forecasters have since shifted rate expectations, with BofA seeing the prospects for multiple Fed hikes this year rather than a pause — a development that has put pressure on risk assets, including crypto.
Institutional flows and ETF redemptions
Institutional demand for Bitcoin appears to have softened: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $6.4 billion in net outflows over the past 30 days, marking the largest redemption window since these products launched. ETF outflows, coupled with reduced risk appetite among macro funds and hedge funds, have added selling pressure to the BTC market.
Equities tied to crypto-focused strategies also felt the impact, with certain Strategy shares falling more than 12% below the $100 mark as market participants rotated out amid heightened rate uncertainty.
Outlook: volatility, risk management and key levels
Prediction markets and on-chain indicators paint a cautious short-term picture: Polymarket traders assigned a roughly 66% probability that BTC will slide below $50,000 and a 46% chance of a drop under $45,000. Combined with the large options expiry and continued ETF outflows, the path for Bitcoin in the coming days is likely to be choppy.
For traders and investors, key considerations remain risk management and sizing around expiries and macro prints. Options delta hedging, concentrated call strikes, and crowded long positions in certain altcoins increase the potential for forced liquidations. For longer-term investors, dollar-cost accumulation near historically significant moving averages remains a commonly advocated strategy, while more active participants may watch $55,000 and the $40,000s as tactical reaction zones.
In short, the May PCE report has pushed rate fears back into focus, fueling a $1.48 billion liquidation event that underscores how macro data, derivatives expiries and institutional flows can combine to amplify crypto market volatility.
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