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Ethereum absorbed $432.34 million in combined liquidations over Nov. 8 and Nov. 9, its heaviest wave since mid-August, as ETH fell from $2,236 to $2,060, AMBCrypto reported. At the time of writing, the second-largest cryptocurrency traded just above $2,100.
The report compares the event with Aug. 19, when $1.02 billion in short positions were wiped out in a single day. The two episodes differ in direction and scale, though both stand out as unusually large clears of leveraged Ethereum positions this year.
Also read: Tom Lee's ETH bottom call tested by $45.3M whale long
Key facts
- Ethereum saw $432.34 million in liquidations across Nov. 8-9, 2026, the largest volume since Aug. 19.
- ETH fell from $2,236 to $2,060 and was trading just above $2,100 at publication.
- The 30-day rolling Open Interest Z-Score fell to -2.87, per crypto analyst Arab Chain’s Binance-based data cited by AMBCrypto.
- Open interest stood at $5.236 billion versus a 30-day average of $5.850 billion, with a standard deviation of $213.77 million.
- Vitalik Buterin argued Ethereum as a store of value made more sense to focus on than ETH as a fee-burning token.
Open interest signals lower risk appetite
Because current open interest sat roughly 2.87 standard deviations below its 30-day mean, the report describes the drop as unusually sharp. Arab Chain’s reading is that the combination of softer prices and shrinking open interest may reflect the closure of existing positions, whether through liquidation or manual exits, rather than the opening of large new shorts.
On the chart, the structure turned bearish once ETH lost the swing point at $2,358. The $2,400 area has since acted as resistance, and November price action has rejected from it. The OBV was relatively flat across the prior ten days after declining slowly since early October, while the MACD pointed to strong bearish momentum at the time of writing, according to AMBCrypto.
Why it matters
Liquidations force leveraged traders out at a loss and can amplify price moves in the short term, so a clearing of this size matters most to those running positions on margin. The shrink in open interest suggests less capital is sitting behind ETH contracts than a month ago, which can mean thinner moves in either direction rather than an automatic recovery or further collapse. Separately, the remarks attributed to Buterin reopen the long-running debate about how ETH should be valued, a theme that has repeatedly moved sentiment in quieter markets.
What to watch
Two levels stand out in the report: the $2,000 round-number support, and the $1,840-$1,950 demand zone where ETH consolidated in July and August. How price behaves at those areas, together with whether open interest rebuilds toward its 30-day average, will show whether selling is exhausting itself or continuing.
This article is informational only and is not financial advice. Crypto markets are volatile and uncertain, and prices can move sharply in either direction.
Reported by AMBCrypto.
Source: AMBCrypto