Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and other major cryptocurrencies saw significant declines following a report that Binance suffered a $6.3 billion hacker attack. Investor sentiment was hit, leading to liquidations of over $1.5 billion across the entire crypto market.

• Bitcoin fell below $77,000 during the market sell-off, Ethereum dropped below $2,200, and major altcoins such as XRP and Solana also recorded significant declines.
• In the past 24 hours, over $1.5 billion in crypto leveraged positions were liquidated, with traders who bet on price increases bearing most of the losses.
• This decline occurred after it was revealed that Binance had a security vulnerability worth $6.3 billion. The exchange suspended withdrawals and stated that it would compensate customers for their losses.
• On Friday, Bitcoin and Ethereum regained some of their losses, but they were still below their levels before the sell-off.
• The number of open contracts for futures trading decreased to approximately $136.3 billion, while trading volume increased by 74%, indicating that traders reduced their exposure during the market downturn.

According to CoinGlass data, in the past 24 hours, approximately $1.55 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, with traders who bet on price increases suffering the greatest losses.

Bitcoin fell below $77,000 during the sell-off on Thursday, hitting a low of nearly $76,400 during the session, before regaining some of its losses later on. Ethereum also briefly dipped below $2,200, and XRP, Solana, BNB, and Dogecoin also fell as the sell-off spread to major cryptocurrencies.

This decline occurred following the news of a security vulnerability at Binance. The exchange estimates that approximately $6.3 billion in crypto assets were affected. Subsequently, Binance suspended withdrawals to investigate the incident and stated that it would cover the customers' losses.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP lead the decline in the crypto market

According to market data reported by The Block, Bitcoin traded around $76,664 on Thursday evening, falling by about 4.5% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum fell by 5.2% to around $2,190; XRP fell by 7% to around $1.21.

The cryptocurrency BNB, which is related to Binance, fell by 7.1% during the same period to around $698.65.

Solana has fallen to $95, and the trading price of Dogecoin is around $0.075. The selling pressure in the altcoin market continues.

By early Friday, some cryptocurrencies had recovered some of their losses. Bitcoin had rebounded to around $78,500, and Ethereum was trading at around $2,240, but both were still below their levels before the sell-off.

As previously reported by crypto.news, the decline in Bitcoin is related to the Binance security incident. The pressure of leveraged liquidations, along with the uncertainty regarding the extent of exchanges' losses, have jointly suppressed prices.

Previously, the market was already concerned about US monetary policy, as the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 3.75% to 4% unchanged. Previous reports also stated that two officials supported an interest rate hike.

Encrypted settlement volume exceeds $1.5 billion, bulls under pressure

This round of decline has been particularly harsh on traders using leverage. CoinGlass records show that approximately 246,482 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours.

Of the total liquidation amount of $1.55 billion, long positions accounted for approximately $1.34 billion. Traders who held leveraged long positions in cryptocurrencies faced forced liquidations as the market declined.

Bitcoin accounted for approximately $499 million in liquidation amounts, followed by Ethereum with $358 million. According to another CoinGlass snapshot, the liquidation position of Solana was about $82.6 million, while XRP and Dogecoin were $38.1 million and $18.6 million respectively.

Binance handled approximately $754.6 million in settlements, accounting for nearly half of the total market value in that snapshot. Hyperliquid followed closely with $251.4 million, and Bybit with $186.5 million.

The maximum single settlement was a long position in Binance Bitcoin worth approximately 11 million US dollars.

For traders using leverage, a forced liquidation occurs when they do not have sufficient collateral to maintain their positions. The exchange will automatically close the positions, and this may further contribute to selling pressure when prices are already declining.

Traders who had bet on further declines were also subsequently affected by the rebound. During a four-hour period on Friday, short positions accounted for $57.3 million of a total liquidation amount of $85 million.

Binance Hacker attacks add further pressure to an already weak market

After the major security vulnerability was disclosed on Thursday of Binance, the selling pressure further intensified. Blockchain investigators traced billions of dollars in stolen assets moving across multiple networks.

Binance indicates that with the assistance of industry partners, approximately $3 billion in affected assets have been frozen, and security checks are still ongoing.

Blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Elliptic have linked this attack to hackers associated with North Korea. Binance did not publicly confirm the identity of the attackers in the initial reports.

This incident affects not only Bitcoin and Ethereum. According to on-chain activity cited in market reports, during the transfer of the stolen assets, Uniswap and Aave both fell by about 11% on Thursday.

The ENA token of Ethena also came under pressure due to transactions related to the attackers, but subsequently rebounded along with several other cryptocurrencies.

During the same period, tech stocks also faced pressure. The NASDAQ 100 futures fell by 2.3% due to Amazon raising its capital expenditure expectations, while the stock price of Intel declined after disappointing guidance.

The weakness in tech stocks coincided with a decline in crypto-related stocks, which includes Strategy and Robinhood.

As volatility increases, crypto traders reduce their exposure.

Derivatives market data shows that as traders responded to the selling pressure, the number of open futures positions declined.

According to market data from Friday, the number of open contracts for total crypto futures decreased by 3% to approximately $136.3 billion, while trading volume soared by 74% to $346.1 billion.

The open interest of Solana decreased by 13.3%, while its price only fell by 3.3%. The open interest of Ethereum decreased by 5.8%, and that of Bitcoin decreased by 1.4%.

Option trading indicates an increased demand for downside protection in the market. Among the six most actively traded options for Bitcoin, five are put options, with the contract expiring on November 13th and having an exercise price of $74,000 having the largest trading volume.

Ethereum traders also exhibited a similar pattern, with the trading volume of put options expiring on November 13th with an exercise price of $2,000 exceeding that of any other Ethereum option by more than twice.

The Fear & Greed Index for CoinMarketCap has dropped from 43 to 36, while the Altcoin Season Index has fallen from 54 to 45.