Crypto Liquidations May Have Reached $10 Billion, Estimates Bybit CEO

• Crypto Liquidations May Have Reached $10 Billion, Says Bybit
• API limitations hide real impact of crypto liquidations
• Crypto Volatility Spikes on US Trade Tariffs

The recent cryptocurrency market meltdown has revealed a much larger scale than initial figures indicated. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou estimated that total liquidations could have reached between $8 billion and $10 billion in just 24 hours, significantly surpassing data released by analytics platforms like Coinglass, which indicated to US$2,38 billion. This gap between the reported numbers and Zhou’s estimated reality raises questions about the accuracy of the information available to the public, especially considering the technical limitations that affect the transmission of data in real time.

I am afraid that today real total liquidation is a lot more than $2B, by my estimation it should be at least around $8-10b. FYI, Bybit 24hr liquidations alone was $2.1B, As you can see in below screenshot, Bybit 24hr liquidations recorded on Coinglass was around $333m, however,… https://t.co/4WLkPxTYF4 pic.twitter.com/woTOHQvNkt

— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) February 3, 2025

Zhou explained that the discrepancies arise due to API limitations, which restrict the amount of information that can be shared per second. This means that a large portion of liquidations simply don’t show up in public reports. Coinglass itself, for example, only recorded $333 million in liquidations from Bybit, while the actual value was a staggering $2,1 billion in the same period. Zhou noted that this practice is not unique to Bybit, saying that other exchanges also limit the data transmitted, which can underestimate the true impact of market movements. To address this issue, he announced that Bybit will begin disclosing all liquidation data in an effort to increase transparency.

The impact of this event was felt across the crypto ecosystem, with Bitcoin managing to hold above $98.000 despite strong selling pressure. However, riskier assets suffered considerable losses. XRP, one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market value, fell 27% in just one day, reducing its market value from $200 billion to $148 billion in a matter of hours, a clear example of the volatility that defines the sector.

This turbulent environment has been compounded by macroeconomic factors, including the recent imposition of trade tariffs by the United States government on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. The new tariffs, which range from 10% to 25%, have increased uncertainty in global financial markets, causing investors to flee from assets considered to be higher risk, such as cryptocurrencies. This combination of macroeconomic factors and limited transparency of settlement data has exposed vulnerabilities in the crypto market, revealing a much deeper impact than initially realized.

While Bitcoin has shown resilience amid the storm, the episode highlights the need for greater clarity in market information and shows how external events can amplify crypto volatility, affecting everyone from large institutional investors to individual traders. Zhou’s estimate suggests that this could be one of the largest sell-offs in cryptocurrency history, rivaling previous crises like the collapse of FTX and the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.