Crypto Liquidations Top $628 Million in an Hour as Binance Hack Fears Sink Bitcoin

Late Thursday, cryptocurrency liquidations totaled $627.7 million in one hour, including $606.6 million from leveraged bets that prices would rise, according to Coinglass. Bitcoin fell below $79,000 and Ethereum below $2,240 as traders reacted to an unexplained $2 billion outflow from Binance hot wallets; no hack had been confirmed, and Binance had not commented. The first transfer from the Binance 14 wallet occurred at 20:24 UTC, and Bitcoin dropped from near $80,800 at 20:00 UTC to about $78,300 before rebounding. A liquidation occurs when an exchange forcibly closes a leveraged position after the price moves against it.