ETH, SOL and DOGE slide 7% as $850 million bullish bets end up liquidated

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ETH, SOL and DOGE slide 7% as $850 million bullish bets end up liquidated

Ether, solana and XRP led losses across crypto as a wave of long liquidations swept futures markets, showing stress spreading beyond bitcoin during weekend trading.

By Shaurya Malwa

Jan 31, 2026, 3:41 p.m.

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What to know:

• Nearly $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours as a weekend sell-off spread across major tokens and high-beta altcoins.
• Ether led the losses with about $385 million in liquidations, followed by bitcoin at roughly $188 million, while solana and XRP each saw more than $45 million wiped out.
• The wave of mostly long-position liquidations, including in tokenized silver, reflected thin weekend liquidity and a mechanical reset in leverage rather than outright panic, leaving the market's next direction dependent on how quickly risk builds back up.

Crypto markets extended their weekend slide with losses broadening across major tokens and high-beta altcoins, as futures liquidations piled up following weakness in bitcoin.

Ether bore the brunt of the damage. The second-largest cryptocurrency saw roughly $385 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, the largest of any asset, as its price slid sharply alongside a wider risk-off move. Bitcoin followed with about $188 million in liquidations, while losses accelerated across solana, XRP and a long tail of altcoins.

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(Coinglass)

Liquidation data shows the selloff was skewed one-sided. Long positions accounted for the vast majority of forced exits, with short liquidations barely registering. That imbalance points to traders being caught leaning the same way after weeks of range-bound price action and repeated attempts to buy dips.

The damage was not limited to crypto-native assets. Tokenized commodities also featured prominently, with blockchain-based silver contracts posting unusually large liquidations relative to their size.

The presence of metals alongside bitcoin and ether is indicative of how crypto venues are increasingly used as fast-moving macro trading rails during periods of stress.

Solana and XRP each saw more than $45 million in liquidations, while dozens of smaller tokens were swept up as liquidation engines fired across exchanges. In total, roughly $974 million was wiped out in the past 24 hours, with more than 240,000 traders forced out of positions.

Price action across majors reflected the pressure. Bitcoin slipped toward the low-$80,000 area, ether broke key short-term levels, and altcoins fell at a faster pace, reinforcing their sensitivity to leverage cycles.

With liquidity thinner over the weekend and risk appetite fading, the move looked less like panic and more like a mechanical reset.

Whether that clears the path for stabilization or opens the door to another leg lower will depend on how quickly leverage rebuilds once markets reopen in full.