Why did ETH go through a wave of long liquidations?

Ethereum (ETH) went through a peak hour of liquidations, erasing over $157M in positions on Binance. A shift in sentiment caused a reversal on the highly leveraged ETH market, showing the fragility of the recent price recovery. 

As of October 15, ETH saw over $157M in liquidations on Binance, while on all markets, over 92% of liquidations affected long positions. The hourly liquidation event was the most notable one in the past six months, cutting short the recent ETH recovery.

The ETH liquidations reached a total of $292M in the past 24 hours, with around $200M for BTC. Most of the liquidations happened in a short time span, often taking minutes to liquidate the most at-risk positions.

While short liquidations dominated in September, over the past two weeks, the crypto market went through three peak episodes of long liquidations. 

The liquidation event also arrived just days after analysts noted a peak level of long positions, with accumulation of liquidity on Bitfinex. 

Following the liquidations, ETH sank to $2,362.43, breaking its attempt to regain positions near $2,800. The liquidation event happened after several successful weeks for ETH, and after 74.6% gains in Q3.

According to analyst @darkfrost, the ETH market reacted to the recent news of higher US consumer price index numbers for September, driven by higher gasoline and energy costs. 

ETH reverses recovery after long liquidations

ETH sank by over 8% in the past week, surpassing the losses of BTC. The ETH fear and greed index is down to 29 points, indicating fear. ETH sentiment is now at the lowest level since July, despite the higher market price. In 2026, periods of fear were often followed by neutral consolidation, or a return to greed. 

During the recent liquidation event, ETH swept the cluster of liquidity just below $2,500, and continued to liquidate positions in the $2,300 range. 

Based on the liquidation heatmap, new short positions are being built toward the $2,600 level, potentially setting the stage for a recovery with a short squeeze. The crypto market is heavily dependent on derivatives, but ETH liquidity diminished in October. The recent liquidations shrank open interest from close to $20B down to $15B. 

Over 61% of traders are long on ETH as a whole, with the exception of Hyperliquid, where only 50% of remaining ETH positions are going long. Hyperliquid whales are also at a precarious position, with one large long bet standing close to liquidation. The position pays $670K in funding fees and is down $11M in unrealized losses. 

What comes next for ETH? 

ETH signals track closely the rising perceptions of inflation and worsening market sentiment. In 2026, ETH has been more speculative, reflecting the expectations of a general recovery in DeFi, token trading, and general on-chain activity. Ethereum remains a busy chain for staking, stablecoin operations, and general smart contract activity.

The derivative market may dictate the next market moves. Most of the available liquidity now sits in short positions, potentially liquidatable if ETH quickly regains its positions. The recent liquidation move quickly wiped out most existing long positions, sparking hopes of a short-term reversal. 

During the most recent dip, smart money whales also bought spot ETH and withdrew from Binance. The market fluctuations allow ETH whales to rebuild their positions, preparing for a recovery. 

ETH sentiment remains cautious, allowing for another dip and possibly a slide below $2,000 in the short term. ETH also weakened to 0.029 BTC, despite the recent BTC slide to $80,000.