Bitcoin slid to $75,500 on Sunday after market maker Wintermute transferred nearly $60 million in BTC and Solana to Binance and Coinbase, triggering a cascade of liquidations that erased gains from one of the strongest weekly rallies in years. The sudden reversal came just hours after Bitcoin briefly touched $79,500, capping a 22 percent surge from $64,000 in under 48 hours.
On-chain analytics firm Onchain Lens tracked Wintermute movements and found the firm holds a net short position of $146.19 million against just $13.85 million in long exposure. The heavily lopsided positioning, amplified by thin weekend liquidity, sent shockwaves through derivatives markets where crowded long bets had built up during the week rally.
Liquidation Cascade Hits 90,000 Traders
Total daily liquidations exceeded $350 million, affecting more than 90,000 leveraged traders across major exchanges. Bitcoin and Ethereum bore roughly equal losses, with approximately $41.5 million in BTC positions and a similar amount in ETH positions forcibly closed in a single hour during the sharpest part of the decline.
Ethereum fell 5 percent to below $2,400, while XRP dropped 6.5 percent after hitting resistance at $1.70 on Friday evening. The broader altcoin market suffered even steeper percentage losses as low weekend liquidity amplified selling pressure across the board.
Fear and Greed Swings 35 Points in One Week
The rapid reversal underscored the fragility of the week gains. Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index surged from 24, indicating extreme fear, to 70, signaling greed, in just seven days, a 35-point swing that reflects how quickly sentiment shifts in leveraged markets. Futures open interest climbed 13 percent over the month to $55.3 billion, with persistently positive funding rates that signaled heavily crowded long positioning heading into the weekend.
CoinShares head of research James Butterfill described the rally as primarily a macro story, pointing to the US Treasury decision to double long-term bond buybacks to $4 billion as the catalyst. Gold surged alongside Bitcoin, both benefiting from expectations of expanded dollar liquidity.
The corrections also coincided with broader risk-off sentiment in global markets. US equity futures traded lower with the S&P 500 down 0.58 percent and Nasdaq 100 off 0.85 percent, while gold and silver each dropped about 3.5 percent after hitting record highs earlier in the week.
Bitcoin found support above $76,000 and has since recovered toward $77,000, but analysts warned that key resistance at $78,000 to $80,000 remains a critical barrier. With US ETF markets closed for the weekend, Bitcoin loses the institutional bid that drove much of the week gains. Federal Reserve commentary expected at the Jackson Hole symposium next week could introduce additional volatility.
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