Bitcoin slipped below $81,000 on October 8, 2026, and leveraged traders paid for it fast. Over $485 million in crypto positions were liquidated in a single hour, and most of them were longs.
That also marks the first time Bitcoin has traded under $81,000 since mid-September.
An hour of forced selling
The intraday low landed somewhere between $80,350 and $80,500, depending on the data source. Estimates for the one-hour liquidation total ranged from $480 million to $489 million.
The damage did not stop after the first hour. Across the full 24-hour window, total crypto liquidations surpassed $1 billion.
Long positions accounted for approximately $930 million to $1.05 billion of that figure.
Ethereum took an outsized share of the hit. ETH liquidations ranged from $294 million to $333 million, and in some analyses they exceeded Bitcoin’s own liquidation figures.
The broader altcoin market moved in lockstep. Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Dogecoin all posted steep declines, closely tracking Bitcoin on the way down.
The pressure came from several directions
Start with bonds. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.31%, rising alongside Bitcoin’s decline.
Then there is oil. Brent crude surged to $105 as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated.
Those conditions spurred outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
Finally, there was the matter of Uncle Sam’s wallet. Before the drop, US government-controlled addresses transferred somewhere between 3,200 and 12,267 BTC. That Bitcoin was linked to notable hacks and the collapse of major exchanges. Depending on the estimate, the transfers were valued anywhere from several hundred million dollars to over $1 billion.
Leverage did the heavy lifting
Open interest, the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts, was elevated heading into the move. Analysts cited thin liquidity and crowded long positioning as amplifiers of the decline.
The slide also erased part of Bitcoin’s recent progress. The asset had pushed above $81,000 in a surge that began after September 21, and this move reversed some of those gains.
Context: big, but not historic
A billion dollars in daily liquidations is a serious number. It is not, however, a record. That distinction belongs to the $19 billion liquidation event in October 2025.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.