On Saturday October 24 2026 Bitcoin slipped under $80,000 for a short time. The move was small. The damage was not. In the four hours to 1 p.m. ET traders saw $436.44 million in positions liquidated and $404.15 million of that came from longs, according to CoinGlass data reported by The Block.
Headlines like that show up every few weeks. This guide explains what a crypto liquidation actually is, how a dip of under 2% can wipe out a leveraged trader and the simple rules CCF teaches so it never happens to you.
What happened on October 24 2026
Here are the verified numbers from The Block's report using CoinGlass and SoSoValue data:
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Liquidations in the 4 hours to 1 p.m. ET | $436.44 million |
| Of which long positions | $404.15 million |
| Longs liquidated in 15 minutes from 10:15 a.m. ET | $208.21 million |
| Bitcoin intraday low | About $79,280 around 11:20 a.m. ET |
| Liquidations over 24 hours | $815.26 million |
| Traders liquidated over 24 hours | 201,012 |
| Crypto futures open interest | $140.10 billion, down 2.2% |
| US spot Bitcoin ETF net outflows Thursday and Friday | $773 million combined |
The Block noted this was the largest four-hour wave of long liquidations since October 14 when $505.57 million in longs were wiped out. Reports also pointed to ETF outflows and geopolitical nerves as background pressure. Nobody can say for sure what any single seller was thinking. What we can explain is the mechanism that turned a modest dip into a nine-figure wipeout.
What is a crypto liquidation?
A liquidation happens when you trade with borrowed money and your losses eat through the collateral you put up. The exchange closes your position automatically so the loss does not exceed what you deposited. As The Block put it, an exchange liquidates a leveraged position when the trader's margin can't cover the losses.
Four terms make the whole thing click:
- Margin. The money you put up as collateral.
- Leverage. How many times larger your position is than your margin. $1,000 at 10x controls a $10,000 position.
- Maintenance margin. The minimum collateral the exchange requires to keep the trade open. Drop below it and you are liquidated.
- Liquidation price. The price where that happens.
The idea is the same as a margin call in stock investing. The difference is speed. Crypto trades 24/7 and most platforms close the position automatically within seconds instead of giving you time to add funds.
How leverage shrinks your cushion
Many exchanges estimate the liquidation price of an isolated-margin long like this:
Liquidation price ≈ Entry × (1 − 1 ÷ leverage + maintenance margin rate)
Exact formulas vary by exchange because of fees, funding payments and margin tiers. The table below uses an illustrative entry of $80,000 and a 0.5% maintenance margin rate. It shows the math, not a forecast or a recommendation.
| Leverage | Approx. liquidation price | Drop needed to liquidate |
|---|---|---|
| 1x (spot, no borrowing) | None | Cannot be liquidated |
| 3x | About $53,730 | About 33% |
| 10x | $72,400 | 9.5% |
| 20x | $76,400 | 4.5% |
| 50x | $78,800 | 1.5% |
Now compare that with Saturday. Bitcoin's slide from about $80,640 to about $79,280 was roughly 1.7%. That alone was enough to end a 50x long opened near the top of that range. Funding fees and trading fees pull the liquidation price even closer over time.
This is why CCF teaches beginners to start with spot. You can still lose money on spot if price falls but you cannot be forced out at the worst moment. You choose when to sell.
Why liquidations cascade
A liquidation is not a quiet event. When the exchange closes a long it sells that position into the market. That selling pushes price down a little more. The lower price hits the next cluster of liquidation prices which triggers more forced selling.
Saturday showed the pattern clearly. Most of the damage came in two short bursts: $208.21 million in longs in 15 minutes from 10:15 a.m. ET and another $131.17 million in 15 minutes from 11:15 a.m. ET. When price bounced back above $80,000 the flow flipped and shorts made up most of the smaller liquidations that followed.
Liquidations also tend to cluster near round numbers and obvious levels like $80,000. Many traders park their stops and liquidation prices just beyond the same lines. Our guide to Bitcoin support and resistance levels explains why those levels attract so much activity.
Long vs short liquidations
| Long liquidation | Short liquidation | |
|---|---|---|
| Your bet | Price goes up | Price goes down |
| What triggers it | Price falls to your liquidation price | Price rises to your liquidation price |
| What the forced close does | Sells into the market | Buys from the market |
| Market effect | Can deepen a drop | Can fuel a squeeze higher |
| October 24 example | $404.15 million in four hours | A small share as price recovered |
If you want a fast refresher on the core moves before going further, the free CCF Quick Start Guide walks through market structure and risk in plain steps.
How to avoid getting liquidated
These are the rules CCF teaches first. None of them require predicting price.
- Start with spot. No borrowing means no liquidation price. Learn to read charts and manage trades with your own capital first.
- If you use leverage keep it low. Lower leverage puts your liquidation price far from your entry. Many professionals use leverage to size positions efficiently, not to swing for the fences.
- Use a stop loss that sits well before your liquidation price. Your stop should take you out at a planned small loss long before the exchange does.
- Risk about 1% of your account per trade. Size the position from the distance between entry and stop. Our crypto risk management guide shows the math step by step.
- Prefer isolated margin as a beginner. With isolated margin the most you can lose on one trade is the margin assigned to it. Cross margin can draw on your whole account balance.
- Know your platform's rules. Check the maintenance margin, funding schedule and whether liquidation uses a mark price.
- Write it down. Log your leverage and liquidation price in your crypto trading journal before you enter.
The CFTC's advisory on the risks of virtual currency trading warns that digital asset prices can swing sharply and that leverage magnifies losses. That warning is the whole story of October 24 in one sentence.
How AI can help without making the call
AI tools are good at the boring math that keeps you safe. You can ask an assistant to calculate a liquidation price from your entry, leverage and the maintenance margin your exchange publishes. You can ask it to size a position for a 1% risk. You can also ask it to flag every trade in your journal where you used more than 3x.
Always double-check the numbers against your exchange's own calculator. Never paste private keys, seed phrases or API keys into any AI tool. AI can check your plan. It cannot tell you where price goes next. See how to use AI for crypto trading for safe prompts.
Frequently asked questions
What does liquidation mean in crypto?
It means an exchange has force-closed a leveraged position because the trader's margin fell below the required minimum. The trader loses some or all of the margin put up for that trade.
Can you get liquidated holding spot Bitcoin?
No. If you bought Bitcoin with your own money and did not borrow there is no liquidation price. You can still see losses if price drops but nobody can force you to sell.
How is a liquidation price calculated?
A common estimate for an isolated long is entry times one minus one divided by leverage plus the maintenance margin rate. At 10x with a 0.5% rate that is about 9.5% below entry. Each exchange publishes its own formula.
Why were so many longs liquidated on October 24 2026?
Bitcoin dropped under $80,000 for a short time. Many traders were betting on higher prices with leverage so their liquidation prices sat just below that level. Forced selling then hit the next cluster of positions.
Do liquidations push the price down further?
They can. A long liquidation sells into the market. In a fast move that selling can trigger more liquidations which is called a cascade.
What is the difference between isolated and cross margin?
Isolated margin limits your risk on a trade to the collateral assigned to it. Cross margin shares your whole account balance across positions which gives more room but can put the full balance at risk.
What leverage is safe for beginners?
CCF teaches beginners to start with no leverage at all. Learn on spot first. If you later use leverage keep it low and always set a stop loss that triggers well before liquidation.
Where can I see crypto liquidation data?
Sites like CoinGlass track liquidations by exchange and asset. Treat the data as context about market positioning, not as a signal to trade.
The bottom line
October 24 2026 was a reminder that small moves hurt leveraged traders the most. Liquidations are not random bad luck. They are the predictable result of too much borrowing and no plan. Start with spot, keep leverage low or at zero, set your stop before you enter and risk a fixed slice of your account. If you want structured guidance building that discipline across Bitcoin, tokenized stocks and beyond with AI, explore our CCF programs.
This article is general education, not financial, tax or legal advice. Trading digital assets involves risk including loss of your capital.
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Written by
CCF · Co-founder
Teaches trading and investing built on risk management, with AI to sharpen each decision. He lives by the power of 1%: small consistent daily effort makes you the person you want to be.
CCF · Co-founder
Has been in crypto since 2017 and helps people learn investing and trading through structured practical education built on risk management so they can decide with confidence and grow steadily.
Educational content only. This article is general education about digital assets, trading and investing. It is not individualized financial, investment, legal or tax advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Crypto markets are volatile and involve risk, including loss of principal; leveraged products can lose more than the amount committed. CCF does not guarantee any outcome or return. Do your own research and consider speaking with a licensed professional about your situation.
