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Data from Coinglass shows that cryptocurrency traders saw nearly $307 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours as crypto markets plummeted on Thursday following news that crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital (SI) was ceasing operations.
Traders on Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, suffered a loss of $104 million, the largest among exchanges, followed by losses of $79 million at OKX and $45 million at Huobi, according to Coinglass . .
Bitcoin (BTC) traders suffered the largest losses at around $112 million, while Ether (ETH) sales totaled $73 million.
Of the trading positions liquidated in the last 24 hours, approximately $282 million were long and higher prices. That's more than the highest daily liquidation of long positions this year, when $254 million was recorded on Feb. 8, according to Coinglass.
Read more: Bitcoin falls below $21,000 and hits 7-week low as Silvergate shutdown shakes investors
© Contributed by CoinDesk Binance and OKX saw the biggest sell-offs as the recent sharp drop in cryptocurrency prices caught traders by surprise. (coin cup)The increase in long selling suggests that the sudden drop in cryptocurrency prices caught investors by surprise. BTC, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is down more than 6% in the past 24 hours to hit a seven-week low of around $20,050 today. Popular altcoins Dogecoin (DOGE) and Tron (TRX) have dropped prices.
Cryptocurrency markets had one of the strongest starts in their 14-year history, recouping some of the losses from the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. BTC hit $25,000 in February after starting the year at around $16,600.
The recent drop comes on concerns over the stability of Silvergate Bank, a key banking partner for digital asset firms. After suffering heavy losses and exhausting its deposits, the bank announced on Wednesday night that it would "voluntarily liquidate" its assets and cease operations.
Read more: Why financial analysts missed Silvergate's red flags