$1.5B Crypto Liquidations: Gold Hits Record Highs While Bitcoin Struggles
The cryptocurrency market experienced significant turbulence on Monday, with over $1.5 billion in bullish positions liquidated in a single day. This massive liquidation triggered a sharp wave of selling that hit smaller tokens the hardest, underlining once again the fragility of digital assets under pressure from leveraged trading.
Ethereum (ETH) dropped nearly 9%, sliding to around $4,075, after close to half a billion dollars in leveraged long positions were wiped out. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) fell about 3%, briefly touching $111,998, while other major altcoins such as Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), and Algorand (ALGO) also posted notable losses as selling pressure intensified across the board.
Just a few weeks earlier, demand from publicly listed funds designed to hold digital assets had helped push both Bitcoin and Ethereum to record highs. However, that momentum has since cooled as shares of digital treasury and fintech firms lost ground, reflecting how fragile upward rallies can be without sustained institutional inflows.
According to market reports, more than 407,000 traders saw their positions liquidated within a 24-hour window, causing the total market capitalization of digital assets to dip below $4 trillion, based on data from CoinGecko. Such figures highlight the heightened risks of excessive leverage in the crypto market, which continues to fuel extreme volatility.
Despite the sell-off, Bitcoin has remained in a relatively tight range between $110,100 and $120,000 since early July, signaling resilience compared to the broader shakeout. At the same time, both Ethereum and Solana have stolen the spotlight, rising 74% and 52% respectively since the start of July, demonstrating ongoing investor appetite for these assets despite market uncertainty.
While Bitcoin slowed, gold surged to fresh record highs, underscoring its continued role as a traditional safe-haven asset. On Monday, gold prices hit an all-time peak of $3,720 per ounce, while silver also climbed strongly.
This momentum in precious metals has been largely driven by monetary easing policies in the United States. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent decision to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point pushed both gold and equities higher. Yet Bitcoin’s muted response compared to traditional markets has raised questions about how digital assets are influenced by central bank decisions relative to other asset classes.
Some analysts argue that the relentless rise in gold could eventually serve as a catalyst for Bitcoin, as investors often seek alternative hedging tools when traditional safe havens rally. However, persistent concerns about leverage and market liquidations in the crypto space remain a limiting factor for Bitcoin’s near-term upside potential.
According to Point Trader Group, these sharp movements are part of the evolving dynamics of global financial markets, where geopolitical factors, central bank policies, and liquidity flows combine to shape the path of cryptocurrencies. The firm emphasizes that robust risk management and professional trading strategies are becoming essential as volatility intensifies across global markets.
Ultimately, the current landscape suggests that the digital asset market stands at a critical crossroads—caught between the upward momentum of traditional safe-haven assets like gold and the downward pressure from leveraged liquidations. The future of cryptocurrencies will depend heavily on how investors and institutions adapt to these shifts. In this environment, specialized firms such as Point Trader Group play a vital role in delivering insights, real-time analysis, and professional support to help traders and investors make informed decisions in a highly volatile space.