$180 million in crypto futures liquidated in one hour, the largest single-hour wipeout since early November.
Bitcoin and Ethereum alone accounted for nearly $110M, with long positions crushed on the dip.
Solana ($1.47M), XRP, and high-beta memecoins (PEPE, DOGE, TRUMP, SAFU) saw brutal cascading liquidations.
$180 Million Gone in 60 Minutes: Crypto Leverage Massacre Returns (498 words)The crypto market just delivered a brutal reminder that leverage is still king—and it cuts both ways.In a single hour, more than $180 million in futures positions were forcibly closed across major exchanges, marking the most violent liquidation event in nearly three weeks. Data from Coinglass shows the purge hit at approximately 14:00 UTC on November 20, 2025, with Bitcoin and Ethereum longs absorbing the heaviest damage: $100.7 million and $9.99 million respectively.
The trigger? A sudden 2.8% drop in Bitcoin from $94,300 to $91,650 within minutes, dragging the entire market lower in a classic leverage-flush waterfall. Ethereum followed suit, shedding 4% in the same window, while altcoins and memecoins entered freefall. Solana traders were particularly wrecked—$1.47 million liquidated in one hour—followed by XRP, PEPE, DOGE, and the newly launched TRUMP token that has been a favorite among high-leverage retail gamblers. Smaller names like BEAT, TNSR, and SAFU saw six-figure wipes despite sub-$100M market caps, underscoring how thin liquidity and 50-125x leverage can turn minor dips into bloodbaths.
Longs dominated the casualty list ($158M vs. just $22M shorts), confirming the market had become dangerously one-sided after Bitcoin’s relentless grind above $90k over the past week. Open interest across perpetual futures had ballooned to its highest level since the March 2024 top, creating the perfect setup for a squeeze. This isn’t random noise. These hourly liquidation spikes have become the new normal in the 2025 bull market, where funding rates routinely exceed 100% annualized on altcoin pairs and exchanges aggressively compete on maximum leverage offerings. The result: flash crashes that wipe out hundreds of millions in minutes, only for price to snap back hours later once over-leveraged bulls are rinsed.
For context, the crypto market has now seen over $2.8 billion in total liquidations in November alone—more than double October’s figure—despite Bitcoin trading near all-time highs. That tells you everything about risk appetite right now. Veteran traders are calling it “the tax of the final leg up.” Each flush clears weak hands, resets funding rates to negative, and provides rocket fuel for the next move higher. But for newcomers chasing 50x on meme tokens, today was an expensive lesson. The message from the market is clear: in this cycle, leverage is a loaded gun with a hair trigger. $180 million vanished in an hour because too many believed the ride only goes up. Stay SAFU—or at least keep your leverage under 5x if you want to survive to tell the tale.
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Nikolai Carter
