Derivatives Daily: Sep 25, 2026 — $353.6M Liquidations
The derivatives market absorbed $353.6M in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $235.4M from long positions and $118.2M from shorts. At the same time, aggregate open interest remained elevated at $129.3B, setting up a market where leverage is still large enough for sharp two-way moves. The immediate backdrop is constructive but crowded: the Fear and Greed Index stood at 71, classified as Greed, while the average market RSI was 62.1.
Long liquidations dominate the reset
The liquidation structure shows that the market’s latest flush was led by bullish positions. The 24-hour total reached $353.6M across 77,567 liquidation events. The imbalance was already visible in shorter windows: four-hour liquidations totaled $15.6M, with $11.1M from longs, while the 12-hour total reached $151.3M and included $61.4M in long liquidations. In the latest one-hour window, however, shorts accounted for $1.7M versus $0.7M for longs, suggesting that the pressure briefly rotated as prices stabilized.
Bitcoin led coin-level losses with $126.5M liquidated, including $96.0M in longs and $30.5M in shorts. Ethereum followed with $88.6M, made up of $54.5M in long liquidations and $34.1M in shorts. XRP recorded $18.6M, ZEC $14.0M and SOL $12.6M. Across venues, Binance recorded $144.2M in liquidations, OKX $80.4M and Hyperliquid $47.7M, making exchange concentration an important part of the risk picture.
ETF flows support the broader bid
Spot ETF flows provided a stronger signal than the liquidation tape. Bitcoin ETFs recorded a latest daily inflow of $347.0M on Sep 23, bringing the seven-day total to $1.9B. The sequence improved materially after two early outflow sessions of $450.3M and $296.0M on Sep 15 and Sep 16. Inflows then reached $159.5M, $433.0M, $999.0M, $714.7M and $347.0M across the subsequent reported sessions. Bitcoin ETF assets under management were $108.7B on the latest date.
Ethereum ETFs also stayed positive, although with a smaller seven-day contribution. The latest session brought in $104.6M, lifting the seven-day sum to $275.9M and assets under management to $17.5B. After outflows of $141.5M, $224.1M and $39.2M, the flow pattern turned positive with $143.8M, $270.0M, $162.3M and $104.6M. This persistent institutional demand helps offset the risk created by high derivatives open interest.
Expiry levels define the next battlefield
Bitcoin options open interest stood at $42.6B across 1,078 contracts, with a put-call open-interest ratio of 0.6168. The Sep 25 expiry carries a max pain level of $78,000, with $14.4B in total open interest. The current index price was $84,384.87, leaving the market above that large expiry reference. Smaller nearby expiries point to $86,000 for Sep 26, $84,500 for Sep 27 and $84,000 for Sep 28. The Oct 2 expiry shows max pain at $82,000 and total open interest of $2.0B.
The positioning is therefore asymmetric in timing rather than direction. Strong ETF demand and a 71 Greed reading favor dip absorption, but the large Sep 25 options concentration can still pull prices toward $78,000 after expiry if leveraged longs continue to unwind. Meanwhile, the $86,000 level is the clearest near-term upside checkpoint.
Verdict: The tactical bias remains cautiously bullish above the $84,000-$84,500 area, with $86,000 as the next upside trigger and $78,000 as the key downside options magnet. The view is invalidated if Bitcoin loses $84,000 while global open interest remains near $129.3B or higher, because that would signal renewed leverage-driven liquidation risk rather than a clean reset. Data as of 08:05 Beijing time on Sep 25, covering Binance, OKX, Bybit and other major venues.