Derivatives Daily: $618.4M Liquidated as OI Reaches $130.2B
Crypto derivatives opened Sep. 24 with $130.2B in total open interest and $618.4M in 24-hour liquidations. Longs absorbed $511.4M of that forced closing, versus $107.0M for shorts, making the session a clear long-side reset rather than a balanced washout. With sentiment still at 71, classified as Greed, the market has momentum behind it but also a crowded positioning risk.
Longs dominated the liquidation map
The liquidation breakdown shows how concentrated the pressure was. Over 24 hours, Bitcoin led with $181.9M liquidated, including $145.6M in long positions and $36.2M in shorts across 12,319 events. Ethereum followed at $149.1M, with $127.4M from longs and $21.7M from shorts across 9,213 events. XRP recorded $36.6M, SOL $26.8M and ZEC $23.6M, completing the top five coins by liquidation value.
The timing structure is even more revealing. The 24-hour total reached $618.4M, while the 12-hour window accounted for $467.4M, including $426.9M in long liquidations. By comparison, the latest hour produced only $1.3M in forced closing, suggesting that the sharpest deleveraging burst has already passed. Binance led exchange liquidations at $231.0M, followed by OKX at $138.8M and Hyperliquid at $90.1M. A single Binance ETHUSDT long liquidation was valued at $10.0M, the largest recorded event in the available list.
ETF demand supports the larger coins
Institutional flow data offers a constructive counterweight to the derivatives flush. The latest reported Bitcoin ETF session, dated Sep. 22, brought in $714.7M, lifting the seven-day total to $1.7B and cumulative net flow to $56.9B. The seven-day sequence was volatile: outflows of $450.3M and $296.0M on Sep. 15 and Sep. 16 were followed by inflows of $433.0M, $999.0M and $714.7M on the final three reported sessions.
Ethereum ETF flows also improved into the latest reading. The Sep. 22 inflow was $162.3M, while the seven-day sum reached $292.3M and cumulative flow stood at $13.7B. After three consecutive outflow readings totaling $404.8M from Sep. 15 through Sep. 17, Ethereum saw inflows of $143.8M, $270.0M and $162.3M. That rebound suggests spot demand is helping absorb some of the leverage-driven volatility.
Options set a lower near-term magnet
At an index price of $84,378, Bitcoin options open interest stood at $43.0B, with a 0.6 put-to-call ratio by open interest and 11 listed expiries. The Sep. 25 expiry carries $15.4B in total open interest and has a max pain price of $76,000, well below the current index. Today’s expiry is marked at $85,000 on $465.8M of open interest, while Sep. 26 points to $86,000 on $139.6M. The Oct. 2 expiry has a max pain level of $82,000 and $1.8B in open interest.
That structure leaves a tension between strong ETF demand and a large near-term options position centered below spot. Sentiment is not yet extreme, but the 71 Greed reading and $130.2B OI mean upside continuation would need fresh demand rather than simply more leverage.
Verdict: The tactical bias is cautiously bullish above $84,000, with $85,000 as the immediate options reference and $86,000 as the next upside marker; however, the $76,000 Sep. 25 max-pain level remains the key downside magnet if long liquidation resumes. The view is invalidated by a sustained break below $82,000 alongside another rise in long liquidations, while a recovery through $86,000 with ETF inflows holding above $162.3M would confirm renewed upside pressure. Data as of 08:05 Beijing time on Sep 24, covering Binance, OKX, Bybit and other major venues.