Bitcoin Holds Firm While Altcoins Implode: The Great Crypto Shakeout of 2025

Blood in the streets—unless you're holding BTC.

While Bitcoin stands unshaken at $65K, altcoins are getting slaughtered in what traders are calling 'The Great Purge.' Ethereum's gas fees just hit $150 for basic swaps—congrats, you paid more for a DeFi transaction than your monthly Netflix subscription.

The silver lining? This carnage separates the HODLers from the weak hands. Memecoins got vaporized first (shocking), while serious projects with actual dev teams saw 30-40% haircuts. Meanwhile, Wall Street's latest 'crypto expert' just discovered hardware wallets exist.

One rule never changes: When crypto winter comes, Bitcoin wears the parka.

In brief

• Nearly $967 million of derivative positions were liquidated within 24 hours, mainly long positions.
• XRP and Dogecoin recorded a 10 % drop, followed by Ethereum, Solana, and even Bitcoin despite its relative stability.
• This wave of liquidations results from excessive leverage exposure in the derivatives markets.
• This purge could mark the end of a speculative cycle on altcoins, favoring a rebalancing towards more solid assets.

Massive liquidations : the derivatives market purge

While Bitcoin regains its dominance, data provided by the CoinGlass platform is clear. Within 24 hours, $967 million worth of crypto derivative contracts were liquidated, including $829 million on long positions.

In other words, it was mainly investors betting on continued market rallies who were caught off guard. The overwhelming majority of liquidated positions were long. Indeed, this market reversal violently surprised a large number of operators.

This movement affected different cryptos unevenly, with some altcoins hit hard by this liquidation wave :

• Ethereum (ETH) : about $200 million liquidated, the hardest hit in the market ;
• XRP : $115 million, significant impact with a 10 % price drop ;
• Bitcoin (BTC) : $84 million, despite relative price stability ;
• Solana (SOL) : $58 million ;
• Dogecoin (DOGE) : $56 million, also with a 10 % drop.

The notable element of this series of liquidations is the lack of significant volatility in Bitcoin, often the trigger of widespread movements. This time, flows seem to have been redirected specifically away from altcoins, suggesting portfolio rebalancing or a short-term defensive strategy. The observed phenomenon is therefore not widespread panic, but a targeted purge of a market excessively exposed to leverage.

The weight of leverage and the frenzy of the altcoin market

Behind these raw numbers lies a deeper dynamic, highlighted this week by Glassnode in its report “The Week Onchain”. According to their data, the combined Open Interest on derivatives related to Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin, and solana rose from $26 billion in early July to $44 billion as of the 24th.

A meteoric rise that created a climate ripe for an explosion. “Excessive leverage almost inevitably leads to increased volatility,” notes the analysis from Glassnode’s on-chain team. It is this accumulation of open positions, in a fragile market context, that led to this generalized squeeze.

This overheating has been building slowly over several weeks, fueled by persistent bullish sentiment on altcoins, even as bitcoin remained stable. This disconnect between speculative sentiment and market reality increased traders’ vulnerability to sudden changes.

Derivatives platforms, by enabling high leverage, allowed the stacking of risky bets, mechanically amplifying downward pressure at the slightest pullback. What was only a simple correction turned into a wave of automatic liquidations, in a market unable to absorb the intensity of outflows.

The implications of this purge are multiple. On one hand, it could mark the end of a speculative cycle on altcoins, with a return to more sustainable Open Interest levels. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s resilience in this context may strengthen its dominant position as the sector’s SAFE haven asset.

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