On Friday, bitcoin’s price dipped to $103,703 on Bitstamp, falling more than 2% against the U.S. dollar over the past 24 hours. The entire crypto market took a hit, now valued at $3.28 trillion after shedding 2.86%, with altcoins bleeding across the board.
Friday Meltdown: Bitcoin’s Fall Ignites $841M Liquidation Storm
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Bitcoin Tumbles, Altcoins Bleed, and Derivatives Get Crushed
Bitcoin (BTC) has been drifting downward since notching its all-time high on May 22, now sitting 6.8% below that pinnacle. After slipping beneath the $104,000 mark, BTC hovered just above it by 2 p.m. Eastern on Friday. Market activity picked up, with trade volume jumping 14.68% to $150.41 billion—but most of that momentum came from sellers.
BTC slid 2%, ethereum ( ETH) declined 4.17%, XRP dropped 4.5%, solana ( SOL) fell 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) tumbled roughly 10%. Derivatives markets were hit hard as long positions were wiped out. As of 2 p.m., $841.18 million in liquidations had taken place, with $765 million coming from longs. BTC accounted for more than $233 million of those losses.
On centralized platforms, the largest single liquidation took place on OKX—a BTC-USDT-SWAP worth $12.74 million. Hyperliquid’s infamous whale James Wynn also saw major liquidations as bitcoin’s value wavered. After already losing tens of millions and briefly breaking even, Wynn was liquidated again—this time on a decentralized exchange ( dex). At press time, he’s still holding a 40x long on BTC, carrying a notional value of approximately $54,867,389.
The week’s price action suggests a fragile equilibrium where heightened trading volume masks a deeper undercurrent of uncertainty. As liquidations mount and leveraged bets unwind, market participants may need to recalibrate expectations. The data hints at a volatile recalibration in sentiment, where even seasoned traders are not immune. With sentiment teetering, the next directional move could define near-term conviction. By 2:30 p.m. on Friday, BTC bulls are attempting to break the $105,000 range again.
