The surge of Ethereum past $4,800 resulted in approximately $388 million in liquidations related to the token over the last 24 hours, according to data, marking a significant liquidation wave across all crypto assets.
This liquidation event was part of a broader $769 million wiped from the market, with more than 183,000 traders compelled to exit their positions. The largest individual liquidation was a $10 million ETH swap order on OKX, representing an unusually substantial amount for the token, which typically follows bitcoin positions.
Such liquidations highlight the volatility and fragility of market positioning in cryptocurrency. When traders engage with leverage and the market shifts unfavorably, exchanges intervene to automatically close those positions.
A surge in long liquidations can act as a reset for the market, paving the way for a potential bounce, while a series of short liquidations may propel the market even higher.
This movement occurred as ether rallied nearly 15% to a peak of $4,885 following remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicating that rate cuts might come in September. Meanwhile, Bitcoin saw a 4% increase to $113,000, alongside a 9% rise in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
Analysts believe this rally extends beyond macro factors. Institutional purchasing and treasury allocations have provided additional momentum, increasing speculation that Ethereum could emerge as Wall Street’s favored blockchain.
“Ether’s new all-time high clearly indicates investor interest surpassing that of bitcoin,” stated Samir Kerbage, chief investment officer at Hashdex, in an email to CoinDesk. “I expect ETH to exceed $10k once stablecoin solutions begin to be utilized for payments in the U.S.”
The $10,000 projection, once viewed as overly ambitious, is increasingly echoed as Ethereum solidifies its role as the foundation for stablecoins, tokenization, and smart contracts. Currently, the year-to-date increase for ETH stands at 45%.
