Bitcoin dropped to $64,200 in just two hours, breaking below the $65,000 support. Analytics platform Santiment confirmed the slide marks the lowest level since February 5. The Sunday night timing — typically a low social volume period — didn't shield markets; sentiment turned sharply negative, hitting a two-week high on the fear index.
Leveraged long positions unwound rapidly. Open interest on Bitcoin sank to $19.5 billion, less than half of January 14's peak ($38.3 billion). Nearly $990 million in open interest disappeared as overleveraged traders rushed to close positions. Santiment described the event as a classic flush-out, forcing overexposed participants out of the market in a matter of hours.
Data from Coinglass shows total liquidations across 137,422 traders reached $467.64 million, with long positions representing $434 million — 93% of the total. Exchange HTX executed the single largest forced closure at $61.5 million as BTC slid from $68,600 to $64,400 over the weekend.
Ether, Solana, HYPE Hit Hard
The damage spread beyond Bitcoin. BTC futures accounted for $213.62 million in forced closures, Ether $113.89 million, Solana $19.89 million, and Hyperliquid's HYPE token added $10.72 million. Glassnode data confirms short-term holders continue to capitulate, with the seven-day moving average of net realized losses hovering near $500 million per day.
Market sentiment has flipped into FUD mode. Historically, such extreme negativity can precede swift rebounds, but the air pockets left by liquidated longs suggest the market needs time to rebuild a base.