More than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out this week as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana all fell below key price levels, leaving traders who bet on higher prices with steep losses.

The forced selling came not from a hack, a collapsed exchange, or a rogue tweet, but from Wall Street, where a sharp selloff in US tech and AI stocks dragged crypto down with it.

A widely shared market post put the wipeout at $1 billion in just 10 minutes. Broader derivatives data showed more than $1.05 billion in liquidations across the 24 hours leading up to November 6, 2026.

How the selloff unfolded

Bitcoin hit an intraday low of $74,780.91 on November 6, marking its weakest intraday level since August 21. The world's largest cryptocurrency fell nearly 6% during the episode. Ethereum fared worse, sliding more than 7% to about $2,247, while XRP and Solana also broke below critical support levels — price zones where buying interest had previously held and where traders watch for signs of whether a decline is pausing or extending.

The liquidations were overwhelmingly concentrated on the long side of the market. Long positions accounted for approximately $930 million of the total, or 88.2% of all liquidations. Bitcoin positions made up around $267 million during the key session, followed by Ethereum with approximately $167 million, and XRP and Solana adding further losses on top.

Nearly 211,000 traders were hit by the liquidations, with most of the damage landing on major exchanges such as Binance.

Why leverage turns a dip into a cascade

When a trader borrows funds to amplify a bet and the price moves against them, the exchange automatically closes the position once collateral runs thin. That forced closure is known as a liquidation.

The mechanics create a self-reinforcing loop. Liquidating a long position means selling, that selling pushes prices lower, which triggers the next batch of liquidations, which in turn produces more selling. In effect, the market's own leverage became the accelerant.

That chain reaction is how a market can shed $1 billion in leveraged bets in a matter of minutes, as the widely shared market post described.\n## The Wall Street connection

The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5% amid turmoil across AI and chip stocks, as escalating worries about the AI sector's growth prospects collided with uncertainty in the post-midterm election landscape.

Bitcoin ETFs added to the pressure. The selloff coincided with hefty outflows from the funds — net redemptions that put sell pressure on the Bitcoin the funds hold — giving prices another downward shove. The episode illustrated how directly Wall Street money now reaches crypto: because ETFs give institutional capital a daily channel into and out of Bitcoin, shifts in equity-market mood can transmit into crypto prices without any crypto-specific trigger.

Sentiment followed price. The Fear & Greed Index, a popular gauge of crypto market mood, slipped into "fear" territory, resetting the bullish tone that had been building across the market.

What this means for traders and investors

The most immediate takeaway is about leverage, not direction. A nearly 6% move in Bitcoin is unremarkable by crypto standards. The lopsided 88.2% share of long liquidations suggests the market was heavily crowded on one side heading into the drop.

The bigger story for investors is correlation. Crypto's fate this week was decided largely by what happened to AI and chip stocks, not by anything happening on a blockchain. For anyone tracking similar episodes, the reference points are the same variables that set this week's tone: sentiment around AI stocks, the flow of money in and out of Bitcoin ETFs, and derivatives data showing where leveraged positions remain concentrated.

This article is based on reporting by CryptoBriefing; the original report was edited by John Chen.