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Bitcoin slipped below $82,000 during U.S. evening trading on Monday, October 12, 2026, setting off a fresh cascade of forced selling across leveraged crypto positions. According to News.bitcoin, $488.61 million in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out over 24 hours, affecting 118,142 traders. Bullish bets absorbed most of the hit at $406.48 million, or 83.2% of the total, while short positions accounted for $82.14 million.
The decline extended a retreat from an earlier high near $84,254, with bitcoin trading around $81,780 (-2.28%) by the time of the snapshot. The largest single liquidation was a $9.65 million bitcoin long on Binance, executed at $81,772. Binance accounted for 52.3% of the total liquidations.
Also read: Bitcoin Tops $87K as $1B in Leveraged Bets Is Liquidated
Cryptobriefing reported a more granular view of the same move: roughly $120 million in long positions across crypto were liquidated within a 15-minute window, as exchanges forcibly closed leveraged longs during the intraday slide. The outlet noted the speed, not just the size, was notable — the October 8 decline accumulated over a full day, while the latest flush landed in a quarter of an hour.
Key facts
- Bitcoin fell below $82,000 on Monday, October 12, 2026, with $488.61 million in total liquidations across 118,142 traders, according to CoinGlass data cited by News.bitcoin.
- Long positions made up $406.48 million (83.2%) of liquidations, versus $82.14 million (16.8%) from shorts.
- Ethereum led individual assets with $115.19 million in liquidations, followed by Bitcoin at $106.61 million and Solana at $26.97 million; zcash and NEAR each registered approximately $19.86 million and $19.81 million.
- The largest single liquidation was a $9.65 million bitcoin long on Binance at $81,772, and Binance accounted for 52.3% of the total.
- Cryptobriefing reported that in a 15-minute window, roughly $120 million in crypto long positions were liquidated — a narrower scope and timeframe than the 24-hour CoinGlass total.
Four factors driving the decline
News.bitcoin identified several overlapping pressures behind bitcoin’s retreat below $82,000. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $679 million to $681 million in net outflows during the Oct. 5-9 trading week, weakening a source of institutional demand. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed toward 5.24% to 5.3%, making interest-bearing assets more attractive relative to bitcoin. Elevated crude oil prices, fueled partly by renewed Middle East tensions, complicated the inflation outlook. And bitcoin’s repeated failure to reclaim the $84,000 to $87,000 range shifted attention toward support between $81,000 and $82,000.
Also read: Quant Soars 59% in a Week While Bitcoin Gains 0.3%
Cryptobriefing noted that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reportedly saw outflows of $487 million in a single day — a different figure from the weekly range News.bitcoin reported, and one tied to a single session rather than a full trading week. Cryptobriefing also said profit-taking near the $87,000 peak helped kick off the retreat, and that no significant regulatory actions or protocol changes were reported around this stretch of price action, with swings tied more to traders unwinding leverage than to any single fundamental headline.
Broader market moves
Bitcoin was not alone in the selloff. Ethereum traded near $2,461, down 2.79% over 24 hours and 9.34% over seven days. SOL changed hands around $106.16, losing 4.39% daily and 12.09% weekly. XRP declined 4.33% to $1.34, while dogecoin slipped 4.02% to approximately $0.08311. Hyperliquid and zcash suffered steeper daily declines of 5.44% and 5.82%, respectively.
Cryptobriefing noted an earlier wobble this month: on October 8, Bitcoin dropped below $81,000, touching intraday lows of approximately $80,400 to $80,500. That slide triggered over $1 billion in liquidations within 24 hours, mostly on the long side, with a further $696 million in related liquidations alongside it.
Why it matters
The scale of the liquidation — the majority of it from traders betting on higher prices — shows how much leveraged long exposure had built up heading into the move. For retail traders using leverage, the forced closures can crystallize losses quickly, and the self-reinforcing nature of liquidations means automatic sell orders can add further downward pressure. The episode also highlights how sensitive bitcoin remains to institutional flows and macro data: the ETF outflows removed steady buying that had previously helped absorb selling. Compared with the October 8 decline that topped $1 billion in liquidations, the latest figure is smaller in dollar terms, but Cryptobriefing’s emphasis on the 15-minute timeframe suggests the speed of the flush was unusual.
What to watch
Attention now turns to Wednesday’s U.S. consumer price index report, scheduled for Oct. 14, followed by producer price data on Thursday. Traders are watching the $81,300 to $82,000 support band cited by Cryptobriefing and the $81,000 to $82,000 zone noted by News.bitcoin; a clean break below could trigger another round of forced selling if leverage remains elevated. This is not financial advice, and cryptocurrency markets are volatile and uncertain.
Reported by news.bitcoin.com.
Sources: Bitcoin.com News, Cryptobriefing