Crypto industry debates cause of record $19B liquidation event

The cryptocurrency industry is divided over the cause of the largest-ever forced liquidation event on Oct. 11, Cointelegraph reported. While many analysts view the crash as a natural market deleveraging and a cooling of overheated conditions, some argue that intentional actions by market makers exacerbated the sell-off. CryptoQuant contributor Axel Adler Jr. explained that most of the decline was part of a controlled deleveraging process, noting that open interest on decentralized perpetual futures exchanges plummeted from $26 billion to $14 billion. In contrast, blockchain expert YQ pointed to suspicious activity, suggesting that some market makers began withdrawing liquidity after U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on increasing tariffs on China, which caused some cryptocurrencies to fall by as much as 98%. The total value of liquidated crypto futures positions on that day is estimated to be around $19 billion. However, some have raised concerns that this figure may be an underestimate due to inadequate data calculation methods.